Both teams were much changed from that last meeting. Kettering’s former long-throw expert Exodus Geohaghon is currently on loan to Rotherham, having signed for Peterborough. Their previous manager, Mark Cooper, is now at Darlington, and of their more stylish players back then, those who are still with the club appear to have lost their style. As for Wimbledon, only three players who were in the starting line-up in August 2009 were on the pitch at 3.00 pm this time.
There were clearly two very different teams on display. Kettering took a robust and direct approach, while Wimbledon looked to play as much passing football as possible - and sometimes too much, when a simpler direct pass may have sufficed.
The game began at a decent pace, and the first real chance fell to Kettering, in the third minute. When Steven Gregory lost the ball in midfield, Jean-Paul Marna set off in the direction of goal, neatly slipping a pass inside the box to co-striker Iyseden Christie, who returned with accuracy. But Marna could do no more than provide a tame header for Seb Brown to collect.
Three minutes later, fans saw the first dubious attempt to secure an unfair advantage when Kettering’s Greg Taylor decided that a dive under Ismail Yakubu’s challenge would win a penalty for the home side. Referee Richard Wigglesworth, however, felt it was more deserving of a yellow card than a kick from 12 yards.
This served as a wake-up call for the Dons, who realised that some movement and passing of their own was needed. Sam Hatton soon had things under way, finding Gregory in midfield, who in turn found the non-stop Ryan Jackson on the right byline. Jackson skipped past a flailing Taylor, who was still smarting from his yellow, played in Christian Jolley with an excellent cross, and he laid the ball back to edge of the box for the advancing Andre Blackman. Blackman shimmied past two challenges but not the third, and saw his goal-bound shot blocked.
Four minutes later, the Dons were ahead. A clumsy challenge by Luke Graham on Sammy Moore, who was heading away from goal, saw a free-kick awarded some 20 yards out. A poorly organised wall, more intent on pointing fingers than doing its job, allowed Hatton to squeeze the ball past Nathan Abbey with a grass-cutter of some speed.
The lead was short-lived. Just five minutes later, a wicked deflection off a very unlucky Ed Harris, standing in for the injured Brett Johnson, levelled the score. Christie went off celebrating as though he’d scoring a match-winner at the World Cup finals - understandable, perhaps, as it was just Kettering’s second goal at home this season in four matches. Seb Brown could do nothing to stop it.
A minute later, now with their tails up, Kettering could have been in front. As Taylor put in an excellent cross, Christie somehow managed to find space and fired off an excellent shot, which Brown turned away for a corner.
For the next ten minutes it was all AFC Wimbledon, as attack after attack rained down on the Kettering goal. In the 23rd minute Jackson made a foray down the right and won a corner. Jolley’s in-swinger was met by Harris from seven yards out with a thunderous header, which Abbey somehow beat away with a brilliant save.
A fine and quickly taken free-kick by Hatton was met by Jolley on the left of the box as the Kettering defence stood ball-watching. His cross was met first by Lee Minshull, whose shot was blocked; the ball fell to Sammy Moore, whose his shot was smothered by a panicky defence.
Two minutes later, Kettering created their last chance of the half. James Dance waltzed through the visitors’ defence and set up Christie, who beat Yakubu in the air but smacked his header against the bar. It was heart in mouth time for the Dons faithful, and head in hands for the Kettering supporters.
Wimbledon now took control again. On 35 minutes Jackson set up Moore for a 25-yard shot, which was saved well by Abbey. The best chance of the half to regain the lead arrived a few minutes later. Once again Moore was involved, letting go with a cracking shot from 20 yards, and the ball came nicely for Danny Kedwell - who, just four yards in front of a gaping goal, managed to shoot over the bar. Now it was head-holding time for the Dons fans.
In time added on, crisp passing between Minshull and Moore saw the ball fall to Kedwell inside the box, and this time he shot wide. The first half had been full of entertainment and talking points, and as the scores came in from the other Conference games, the away fans were happier than the home fans.
Ricky Wellard replaced Steven Gregory at half-time, and in a blistering second-half start by the Dons, Jolley began to torment the Kettering back line. He set up Kedwell from ten yards, but the striker was unable to get his shot away. Then Moore, in typically tenacious style, strode through midfield and launched a strike from 25 yards which went just wide. Hatton was back in the act, finding Jackson, who fed Minshull; he found Wellard with a pin-point cross on the edge of box, and in turn played in Jolley, who blazed over from ten yards out.
A minute later, that man Kedwell made amends for his first-half miss. Jolley made a fine run down the left and beat two Kettering challenges before laying off the ball for Kedwell to blast home from ten yards. Now with seven goals in seven games, Kedwell sits proudly at the top of the Conference scoring charts.
Kettering stepped up their game, but as they became more direct they also grew less accurate. They won a string of corners, but none had a shot as an end product - a real waste of opportunities. As they pushed on, their defence became more stretched, creating holes for the fast Dons players to exploit - Jolley on the left and Jackson on the right. In the 69th minute a fine throw by Brown set Jolley speeding away, and his pass found Jackson in the penalty box, but his shot sailed way over the bar.
Kettering now enjoyed a period of possession, but without once getting a shot in, thanks to fine defending by the resolute Harris and Yakubu, ably supported by Minshull and Moore in midfield. Poppies manager Lee Harper now brought on his subs over a 12 minute period in the hope of salvaging a point. This made the game more fractious, as Brett Solkhon (on for Dance) and Moses Ashikodi (replacing John Dempster) both appeared to have a score to settle.
Ashikodi should have been red-carded for his attack on Hatton. The Dons right-back had played yet another cross-field pass, which accidentally hit a Kettering player in the head, but Ashikodi thought it deliberate. But worse was to follow. Five minutes before he was subbed, Dempster punched Minshull in full view of the assistant referee, but only a yellow card was shown. There were bookings too for Blackman (his fourth of the season) and Minshull.
There was still time for two more gilt-edged chances to increase the lead. A sweeping move in the 87th minute saw Blackman feed Jolley on the edge of the box; he passed to Wellard, who delivered a reverse pass back to Jolley, but his shot went over. A minute later Minshull won the ball in midfield and found the advancing Wellard, who passed to Jolley - but he could only shoot tamely at Abbey.
So the 56th-minute strike by a not fully fit Danny Kedwell was enough to win the game, and, on a day when Crawley drew and Mansfield lost, keep the Dons on top of the table.
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