Forgotten ex-Premier League player gives Kettering shock FA Cup win over EFL side FOUR leagues higher
11/02/2024 03:29 PM
Ex-Newcastle forward Nile Ranger gave non-league Kettering Town an incredible shock FA Cup win over League One Northampton Town.
Kettering, who play in the Southern League Premier Division (four divisions below League One) claimed a famous 2-1 win at Sixfields in what is easily the biggest shock of the first round of this season’s competition.
And the winner was scored by a man who’s played at the top level in England in Ranger who nodded the ball home following a corner from the left in the early moments in extra time.
Kettering went on to win the tie 2-1 with The Poppies man Luca Miller’s equaliser after an own goal by Connor Johnson seeing the match finish 1-1 at the end of the 90.
But the headlines belong to Ranger, who has 26 Premier League appearances with Newcastle to his name.
He’s also represented Swindon, Blackpool and Southend United in the Football League, as well as having loan spells at Barnsley and Sheffield Wednesday.
His promising career failed to get going with the 33-year-old forward later dropping down to non league having played for Spalding United and Boreham Wood before joining Kettering in September.
Ranger, who represented England at under-19s level, has had a career plagued by disciplinary issues with the player serving an eight-month prison sentence in January 2017 for online banking fraud.
