MATCH PREVIEW

Both Stourbridge and Kettering saw their FA Cup runs end last Saturday with defeats away at higher ranked Guiseley and Aldershot Town respectively.

Before both sides resume their push for promotion from the Evo-stik League South Division One Central after good starts, the two high-flying teams go head-to-head in the Buildbase F A Trophy 1st Qualifying Round with a place in the 2nd Qualifying Round on November 10th and £3,250 in prize money to the victors up for grabs.

Stourbridge enjoyed a fruitful run in last season's Trophy competition which saw them take the scalps of National League North clubs Bradford Park Avenue and Leamington before suffering an agonising last gasp 2 - 3 loss in the 2nd Round Proper away at big spending Billericay Town.

The Glassboys will make their first visit to Kettering's current home, Latimer Park in the Burton Latimer area of Kettering borough, which lies adjacent to the HQ of the food processing company that is responsible for the production of breakfast cereal brands, including Weetabix, Alpen, and Ready Brek.

The Club moved in with Burton Park Wanderers FC of the United Counties League Division One in the summer of 2013 and have since helped to develop it to meet step 3 ground grading requirements with a main stand added on the Polwell Lane side seating 500, plus another stand on the same side and covered accommodation behind The Morrison and Station Road Ends.

The two sides last met in the 2012/13 season in two Evo-stik League Southern Premier Division fixtures. The Poppies were going through particularly troubled times at the start of that campaign but they battled to a goal-less draw at the War Memorial Athletic Ground in early September 2012. The return contest came in January 2013 at Corby's Steel Park home and the Glassboys emerged as 1 - 0 winners with Sean Geddes coming off the bench in the second-half and almost immediately scoring the only goal of the game from the penalty spot.

We have faced Kettering Town before in the FA Trophy but you have to go back to the first season of the competition, which was in 1969/70. After Stourbridge had battled through four rounds, the 2nd Round tie with Kettering at the War Memorial Athletic Ground ended in a 1 - 1 draw with Kettering prevailing 2 - 1 in the replay at Rockingham Road. The following year Stourbridge would reach the quarter-finals before losing away at Yeovil Town.

Stourbridge will welcome back Aaron Hayden, Robert Thompson-Brown and Kaiman Anderson after all three missed last Saturday's F A Cup tie due to suspension.

Kettering are managed by former Racing Club Warwick, Barwell, Tamworth and Chasetown boss Marcus Law. He returned to manage the club for a second time in May 2015 and last season he guided the Poppies to a 4th place finish in the Southern League Premier Division before the Northamptonshire side lost 1 - 3 at eventual play-off winners Slough Town in the semi-finals.

If a replay is required, it would be at the War Memorial Athletic Ground on Monday, 29th October (7.45 pm).