Duston Garage (Bosch Service) Star Award :
Awarded to Kettering Park Rovers, whose victory in the Area Cup ensures that the final of the competition will be an all-Combination affair.

Stand-out statistics:
§  222 goals: 110 Home, 112 away.
§  10 hat-tricks.
§  14 braces. 

NFA Area Cup 1/4 Final:
Inclement weather may have delayed the tie several times but in the end Kettering Park Rovers were not to be denied as they made the journey to the last remaining Peterborough League side Kingscliffe Reserves. It took just three minutes for Lloyd Pollock to open the scoring for Rovers, nodding in a header at the far post from a deep searching cross. Kingscliffe recovered from the early setback pushing Rovers back and looking to dominate the game in midfield. The high defensive line forced Rovers into shooting from range and Pollock looked to test the ‘keeper with a long range effort, which was palmed away.
On 22 minutes Pollock doubled his tally, cutting in from the left-hand side, after the referee played an excellent advantage. Rover’s Tim Craig was tripped on halfway, but the ball broke to Pollock who surged through the Kingscliffe defence to score with a low drive. Kingscliffe pulled a goal back immediately from the restart when Callum Harris collected a cut-back to tap in from 4 yards. Ten minutes from half-time Tim Craig restored Rovers two goal advantage. A defender slipped and appeared to handle the ball which deflected into Craig’s path, before he coolly slotted in. Rovers broke forward again from the restart, testing the home keeper again from range. Again he could chose not to hold the shot but the rebound was blocked wide for a corner. Rovers thought that they had grabbed a fourth shortly before the break but that was correctly ruled out for offside.
Rovers were not to be denied for long however, with Lloyd Harden adding their fourth on 62 minutes. He collected the ball just inside the area before firing towards the top corner. The keeper managed to get a hand to it, but could only push it into the net.  Five minutes from time Tim Craig grabbed his second of the tie firing in a free-kick from the edge of the area. On the stroke of full time Tom Burnett tapped in from 2 yards to claim his first ever senior goal, giving his side a comfortable 6-1 win.

Rothernberger Division 2 KO Cup:
Stephen Hendry, Mark Warman and Jamie Smith all scored to snatch away Bective’s last realistic chance of silverware in what has been a disappointing season given the high expectations they ha had at the start. Oliver King did manage to pull one back, but it was nothing more than a consolation as they went out 3-1.

Duston Garage (Bosch Service) Reserve Premier Division KO Cup:
A Tom Bott double and a James Castleford solo were enough for Harborough Town to see off Moulton 3-0.

Reserve Division 1 KO Cup:
Dale Lewis made amends for missing an early penalty by netting two of the goals in Blisworth’s  4-0 quarter final success over  Queen Eleanor. The other two goals came from Chris Gale. Gavin Boddington joined the ranks of the brace-baggers, knocking in two of Wollaston’s goals in their 3-0 success over Orchard Park.

Russell Roofing Premier Division:
Harborough’s slide down the table continues after they slumped to a 3-2 defeat away at second-placed Kislingbury. Darren Inns scored the decisive goal for Kislingbury to secure the points. They sit two points behind leaders Weldon, but have played two games more. Medbourne climbed above Harborough courtesy of a thumping 8-3 success at home to Corby Pegasus. Rob Mobsby and Jack Burrows both bagged hat-tricks for the Leicestershire side. The slump could be halted however if Harborough win their games in hand. Weldon meanwhile continue to dominate following a routine win over Heyford. Paul Djeneralovic, Tim Williams and Tamba Moore all scored in the 3-0 success.
Lee Cowley netted the only goal of the game for Roade as they enjoyed success on the road with a 1-0 win over Milton. Defending champions Harpole also won away, defeating Queen Eleanor 4-1. Brixworth completed a trio of away wins romping home 5-1 winners over Whitefield Norpol. Matt Coleman and Mark Drake grabbed braces, while Chris Kirby got Whitefield’s reply from the spot.

Keystone Roofing Supplies Division 1:
Corby Kingfisher stay within three points of top spot incumbents Ringstead, after a fine 6-0 win away at sometime leaders Drayton Grange. Lee Genner’s double and two own goals did the bulk of the damage. Ringstead survived a late fight-back from Blisworth to win 3-2. Goals from Alex Wills, and Danny Jackson put the hosts two up before Edd Stewart fired home.  Josh Davies restored the two goal lead, before a late penalty from Sam Holmes pulled the visitors back to within a goal to set up a tense finish. Kettering Nomads and Wootton remain in contention at the top. Nomads ran out 2-1 winners over Finedon, whilst Wootton stay fourth despite dropping points with a 1-1 draw at Earls Barton.
Sam Savage netted three times to move Spratton out of the bottom two, and give them a morale boosting 5-3 success over local rivals Cold Ashby, who stay rooted to the foot of the table.  Stanion join them in the drop zone after slumping to a 3-0 home defeat at the hands of Welford Victoria.

Rothenberger Tools Division 2:
A 3-0 win away at Weedon saw Old Grammarians climb back into second place behind runaway leaders Danesholme Vikings. Gretton also climbed the table, moving up three places after a 3-2 success over Orchard Park. Clipston wasted the chance to close on the leaders, dropping points with a 2-2 draw at home to Great Doddington.

Division 3:
Convincing wins for three of the top four means that the positions are unchanged this week. Leaders Ise Lodge thumped basement-boys Dainite 8-1. Ross Digby scored Dainite’s consolation goal. Adam Mode netted twice as Wellingborough Rising Sun eased to a 3-1 success over Corby Locomotives, to secure their hold on second spot. Third-placed Corby Eagles were the only side in the top four not to win, instead drawing 3-3 away with Wellingborough WMC. Lee Kovalik scored three times for the home side. Corby Everards were the biggest winners, running riot at Wilbarston. Dan White scored a hat-trick and Stephen Harrison a brace as they cruised to a 9-1 success. By contrast, Hillmorton and Wellingborough Saxons shared the lowest scoring tie of the day; a 3-0 success for the Warwickshire outfit. Wilby and Crick shared nine goals between them with Cameron Richards netting a double for the home side, who were eventual 5-4 winners.

Division 4:
AFC Wymington leapfrogged non-playing West Haddon into second place with a 3-2 home success over CSV. Andy Wood netted the decisive goal. Having played more games than their rivals at the top, Kingswood’s charge to the top has faded somewhat in recent weeks. Things were compounded with a shock 4-3 defeat at struggling Higham Dragons. The home side were fired into the lead by veteran forward John Lawman who snaffled a hat-trick. Bottom side Corby Hearth are still looking for their first point in fifteen games after a 10-0 humbling at the hands of fellow Corby outfit Talisman. Luke McCauley scored four of the goals, alongside efforts from Darren Harrison (2), Fred Techer (2) and a solo from Scott McIntyre. Goals from Billy Ling and Gary Munnelly saw Walgrave Amber defeat Yardley 2-0 to move up a place. Kennedy’s and FC Higham shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw.

Duston Garage (Bosch Service) Reserve Premier Division:
Second-placed Kislingbury slumped to a surprise 2-1 derby defeat at the hands of Harpole. Johnny Searle and Brian Noble scored the goals that ensured the win for Harpole. Weldon were unable to take advantage as they too tasted derby defeat by the same margin against Corby Khalsa.  ON Chenecks ‘A’ climbed above opponents Roade after a 3-1 away win. Bugbrooke ‘A’ remain mired in trouble,  going down 3-0 at Kettering Nomads.

Reserve Division 1:
96 and counting is the depressing statistic for Ringstead Rangers. Another heavy defeat, this time at the hands of Brixworth All Saints, saw the county’s leakiest defence inch closer to the 100 goals against mark.    Craig Rose bagged four, Pete Morrissey three and Kieran Flower a brace as the second-placed side blitzed the East Northants outfit 13-2. Medbourne now sit third after a 2-1 success over Corby Locomotives. Scott Eason scored twice as Wootton eased to a 3-0 home win over Weldon ‘A’.

Reserve Division 2:
Tyrone Clark, Dean Willis and Richard Darnell all found the target for Stanwick who moved clear of the bottom three with a 3-1 success over Wilby.  Spratton moved into double figures on points with a 5-1 win over fellow strugglers Crick. At the top of the table, 13 proved not to be unlucky for Earls Barton as they recorded their thirteenth straight league win, cruising to a 3-1 win away at second-placed Harpole ‘A’. Weedon moved third, above opponents Old Grammarians after a convincing 6-1 win. Islip and Drayton Grange shared the spoils with a 4-4 draw.