St Ives Town vs Kettering Town-Match Preview
Location: Quattro-Tech Westwood Road
Date: 04/10/25
Following Ives’ 1-1 draw with Bishop’s Stortford last weekend, attention turns to the FA Trophy as Kettering Town make the short trip down the A14 to the Quattro-Tech Westwood Road to compete for a place in the next round.
It’s worth noting that in the event the game is level at the end of 90 minutes, the team progressing to the First Round Proper will be decided via a penalty shootout. The last time Ives faced the prospect of a shootout in this competition was back in the 2022/23 season, when manager Ricky Marheineke’s side got knocked out by Belper Town.
Marheineke was asked for his thoughts on Saturday’s cup clash following Ives’ draw with Stortford.
“It’s a good draw” Marheineke said. “Any draw at home is a good draw.”
“They’ve not had a game this week and we felt it when we played Halesowen after having a week off that it does take its toll on you. Players want to play games.”
“We’ve had three games this week so the squad is in a good position and on the back of this performance we just need to continue to keep our levels high which they have been, and if we play well that will give us a chance of winning.”
Ives will be looking to go one further than they did last season in this competition, with Saturday’s hosts previously falling at the first hurdle at the hands of Worksop Town, beaten 2-1 on the day.
Kettering Town
The Poppies have enjoyed a very good start to the season, with manager Simon Hollyhead’s side currently sitting 2nd in the Southern League Premier Division Central table having picked up 17 points from their opening nine games. Like Ives, they have been knocked out of the FA Cup, beating Long Eaton United in the First Qualifying Round before falling to Southern League Premier Central side Quorn in the next round.
Kettering were tipped before the start of the season to have a strong campaign, but they will be desperate to find a way to get over the line this time around, with Hollhead’s men just missing out on promotion to step 2 last time out as they were beaten by AFC Telford in last season’s Play-Off Final.
There will be a familiar face making a return to Quattro-Tech Westwood Road on Saturday afternoon, with the versatile Will Glennon set to make the trip with his new Kettering teammates having made the switch at the end of last season, with the defender having been a pivotal part of Ives’ survival bid last season.
Last Time Out-(FA Trophy)
The last time these two sides faced off in the FA Trophy was back in 2023 in a game which saw Ives progress to the First Round Proper thanks to a freak own goal, as well as efforts from Jonny Edwards and Michael Richens which cancelled out goals from Tyrone Lewthwaite and Sam Bennett. The win also put an end to a bad run of form, with Ives having failed to win their previous four games heading into the encounter.
Last 5 Meetings
Kettering Town 2-3 St Ives Town-March 8th 2025
St Ives Town 0-3 Kettering Town-September 28th 2024 (FA Cup)
St Ives Town 1-2 Kettering Town-September 9th 2024
St Ives Town 6-0 Kettering Town-December 26th 2023
St Ives Town 3-2 Kettering Town-October 7th 2023 (FA Trophy)
