Kettering 13 pts Luctonians 5

LUCTONIANS lost ground in the Powergen Midlands 1 title race when their third defeat of the season left them two points adrift of leaders Bedford Athletic and level on points with dangerous rivals Kettering who have two games in hand.

Kettering possessed the best set of forwards Luctonians have met this season. The home side's big athletic pack hustled and bustled for the full 80 minutes and for long periods denied the visitors the ball.

Luctonians' first-time tackling was excellent, however, and despite defending for much of the match they confined Kettering to a solitary try while scoring one of their own for good measure.

Leading the defensive effort as usual was fly-half Greg Harwood who enjoys nothing better than an afternoon's tackling, especially when confronted by a rampaging back row.

Kettering kicked off with a biting wind behind them and applied all the early pressure with fly-half Damian Whales giving them an early lead with a penalty.

But Luctonians hit back with a 16th-minute try during one of their few incursions into Kettering territory. Full-back Dan Hinton snapped up a loose ball and put centre Jon Goodwin away on a long run up the right touchline to outpace the cover for a corner try.

Kettering soon reapplied the pressure and Whales had a chance to regain the lead but his penalty attempt hit a post.

Luctonians enjoyed their best passage of play in the minutes leading up to half-time but a dropped goal attempt by Harwood was the nearest they came to stretching the lead.

From the home team kick-off to restart play Luctonians turned over possession and Kettering, with some crisp passing between the forwards and backs, swept up field where lock Marin Roberts finished the move with a try near the posts. Whales added the conversion and, instead of holding a slender lead at half-time, Luctonians found themselves five points adrift.

The second half was much like the first with the Kettering pack playing with a bite and urgency that posed a constant threat. Their backs, revelling in the possession, continued to run on to the ball at pace but the visiting backs continued to knock them over.

Hinton kicked Luctonians into attacking positions on several occasions but Luctonians were unable to unlock an equally parsimonious Kettering defence.

Kettering's only second-half reward for an abundance of possession was a second Whales penalty but they were nevertheless well worth their eight-point victory.

Luctonians Powergen Intermediate Cup fourth-round match against Northern visitors Horden kicks-off at 1.30pm this Saturday.