Kettering boss Richard Lavery hailed a “massive achievement” from his players after they pulled off a stunning FA Cup upset at Sky Bet League One Northampton.
The seventh-tier Poppies sit four divisions and 79 places below their local rivals on the footballing ladder, but there was no evidence of the gulf in a competitive encounter at Sixfields.
Connor Johnson’s unfortunate own goal put the Cobblers ahead in the first half, but Kettering responded superbly and took the tie to extra-time when Luca Miller scored with his first touch.
The Southern League Premier Central side secured a famous victory thanks to Nile Ranger’s towering header.
“Wow. I think my heart my drop out of my chest,” said Lavery. “I’m normally bad in a normal game. but that’s taken me to the next level – I feel like I’m going to have a heart attack!
“I knew we were going to win today. I just had a feeling. The lads are absolutely class. We are four leagues below them but we haven’t just given them a game, we’ve beaten them and that is a massive achievement at any level.
“It’s 11 men against 11 men and we have come out victorious. You couldn’t write it. To be through to the second round of the FA Cup and to beat our local rivals, it’s what dreams are made of.”
The humiliating defeat continues Northampton’s woeful recent record in the FA Cup, exiting at the first-round stage for the fifth season in succession.
Manager Jon Brady said: “We started the game quite well and we scored a legitimate goal that gets disallowed and then we do score and that should be 2-0.
“But we were very blunt up front and that’s because we’re obviously lacking numbers at the moment and we’re missing the front men who make a difference.
“There can be no qualms and no excuses. Full credit to Kettering, I don’t want to take anything away from them, they fully deserved the result.
“We haven’t had too many really bad nights in my time here, but that’s obviously a really bad night and I can understand the supporters’ frustration at the end.”
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