Great Scott!

Boxing Day is a football day, in non-league it is customary to have a local derby on the bank holiday and get a bumper crowd. Thanks to the Southern League’s fixture organisation, Rovers’ opponents were on one of their longest journeys of the season, while the hosts were left to count a sparse crowd with little in the way of away support.

The game was very scrappy in the opening half, as befits two sides fighting for their lives at the sharp end of the table. It took until the twenty second minute for either keeper to have any action and it was Carl Knox in the Rovers net who needed to be off his line sharply to deny Tooke. Knox produced another splendid low save five minutes later to deny Benjamin. The Rovers number one completed a hattrick of fine saves with an even more impressive flying tip to thwart a close range header from Odihambo on the half hour. Rovers first tested the Kidlington keeper with five minute to go to the break, Nathan Tshikuna forcing a near post parry from Warrell, from the resulting corner, Alfie Powell made Warrell again do some work to stop a looping header. With two minutes remaining before the break, Kidlington had a dangerous looking free kick on the edge of the box, the initial effort was spilled by Knox. First to react to the loose ball was Odihambo, who managed to poke the ball goalward with enough force to get past Knox’ desperate attempt to make amends and the ball went in off the underside of the bar to the sound of complete silence within the ground and give the visitors a lead they perhaps deserved at the break.

The second half was barely five minutes old when Kidlington capitalised on a mistake in the Rovers back line, which allowed Josh Tooke to slot a into the net past Knox to double the trouble for the hosts. Almost immediately, Rovers supremo Tony Joyce made a change to bring on Scott Joseph, his forward movement helped open up the game and provided more space for the midfield to play. Indeed, it allowed Hateley Mercer to have time and space enough to deliver a deep diagonal cross which was helped into the path of Izale McLeod, who did what all great goal-scorers do and found the net for the first time in Rovers’ colours to half the deficit. Moments later, Powell flashed a header over the bar from a corner as Kempston lifted themselves and got the vociferous backing of the home crowd. The supporters didn’t have to wait long, as midway through the half, Rovers were level. Some brilliant wing play between Mercer and Nathan Tshikuna saw the former send in a deep cross, which was met on the full at the back post by Joseph, thundering the ball into the net from close range. Rovers poured forward with belief that their wait for a home league win was about to end, Joseph curling a shot just wide from the edge of the area and McLeod seeing a free kick tipped for a corner. With eleven minutes to go, a surge through the middle by Joseph saw Warrell out smartly to deny him, but only for the loose ball to fall to McLeod to complete the comeback and send Rovers fans into ecstasy. In the dying moments of the game, Alfie Powell produced a magnificent recovering block challenge to deny Odihambo and preserve the lead after it looked odds on that the forward was going to level things up again.

Rovers held on the record back to back league wins for the first time since August and lift themselves to sixteenth in the table. There is little time to turn around as the next game comes on Saturday, where Kempston play host to Aylesbury United in the reverse fixture from the opening weekend of the season.