AFC Sudbury boss Marc Abbott expects ‘battle’ with Kettering Town after visit to AFC Telford United
AFC Sudbury boss Marc Abbott is expecting his side’s clash at relegation rivals Kettering Town on Tuesday (7.45pm) to be a ‘battle’, as both teams continue to fight for survival in the Pitching In Southern League Premier Central Division.
Before the relegation six-pointer, the Yellows will travel to fifth-placed AFC Telford United on Saturday (3pm) hoping to make ground on their rivals who sit just one spot above them.
Occupying the final relegation place, Sudbury are currently four points from safety after their 2-2 draw at home to Halesowen on Saturday, and Abbott is expecting the upcoming two games to throw up different tests.
“We understand we’ve got a big few games coming up, but it’s not just these two games,” said the Sudbury boss.
“We understand that we need a set amount of wins and we’ve got some really good fixtures that will allow us to do that.
“Kettering away will be a tough fixture, they’ll go for it and they’ve just changed their manager.
“They’ll bombard the box, look to force as many goals as possible, but we know what we’ve got in our squad and we’ve shown that against Mickleover, Stamford and Halesowen we can score against some of the best teams in the league.
“Saturday will be tough physically. They’ve got a massive pitch, they’re an attacking side, and on the flip side we go into Kettering on a heavy pitch and it will be a battle.
“They’re two very contrasting games. Like always, we’ll pick a team that will be most capable for each game.”
Sudbury looked to be heading to their sixth win of the campaign on Saturday, before the ninth-placed visitors equalised in the seventh minute of second-half stoppage time.
A gut-wrenching blow after the Yellows had turned the game around after falling 1-0 down in the 60th minute. Two goals from substitute Josh Allen, in the space of seven minutes, had put Abbott’s outfit in the ascendancy.
Despite the late dagger to the Yellows’ hearts, the Sudbury boss stated that a lot of positives were taken from the draw.
“I think before the game, on reflection of their season and our season, you would have probably taken a point, but obviously the biggest disappointment was that we were over time of potentially winning the game,” said Abbott.
“I think that was the biggest disappointment for the players. There was lots of really high positives and high performance levels that can be taken out of the game, which was really pleasing as well.
“We looked and thought, ‘right, who can step up and score?’ (when Sudbury were behind). The most pleasing thing was that the relentless nature was upped and our intent to win the game.”
