Ex-players relish 'showcase' of county's football

The first meeting between Northampton Town and Kettering Town in almost 35 years will be a "showcase for Northamptonshire football", according to two players who featured in the last match between the sides.

League One Northampton Town, known as the Cobblers will host the seventh-tier Poppies in the FA Cup first round proper on Saturday in what will be only the third competitive game between the sides.

They last met on 18 November 1989, when Northampton won 1-0 at Kettering's Rockingham Road ground in the same competition.

Dean Thomas, who scored the only goal that day, said: "It’s a great chance for these players to do something special."

Thomas struck the winner from distance to beat Kettering goalkeeper Kevin Shoemake in the 69th minute and said he had "dined out" on it ever since.

"That goal was 35 yards, but it gets longer with every story!" he said.

"It was an opportunist goal. The conditions were wet and greasy. I thought I would get lucky. Luckily for me it went in.

"We had to keep the crowd quiet; we couldn’t let Kettering get a head of steam. We thought our fitness would show. We had to win the Northants bragging rights."

Thomas, 62, played more than 70 games for the Cobblers between 1988 and 1990 and also counts Wimbledon, Fortuna Dusseldorf and Notts County among his former clubs.

"As non-league footballers you want one game you can remember for the rest of your life," he said.

"If they can beat Northampton Town, what a wonderful memory that would be."

Rockingham Road closed in 2011 and is in the process of being transformed into a housing development

Shoemake, 59, who played for a host of clubs including Peterborough United and Rushden & Diamonds, said Thomas's goal had "haunted" him, but recalled the "friendly rivalry" between the sides.

He said: "There was a great build-up to the game... all players and coaches knew each other. There was no needle and good camaraderie off the pitch."

Shoemake, who now works as the chief executive of the Birmingham FA, said he had been sent "loads of messages" after the sides were again drawn together last month.

"The two [towns] are 17 miles away, and Kettering fans will travel in number… the build-up back then [in 1989] was exceptional and the players will be right up for it.

"It’s good for the county. The gulf between the two sides is bigger than it was back then but it’s a showcase for Northamptonshire football that can only be good for the game locally."

While Northampton remain a third tier side 35 years on, Kettering have dropped from the former Football Conference - now known as the National League - to Southern League Premier Division Central

Northampton were also victorious in the only other previous competitive meeting between the sides - also in the FA Cup - winning 3-0 at their former County Ground home.

The 2024 match will be shown live on BBC iPlayer and BBC Two from 17:15 GMT on Saturday, with kick-off at 17:30. The match will also be live on BBC Radio Northampton and BBC Sounds.