BIG MATCH PREVIEW: Boss Lavery preparing Poppies for nervy semi-final date with Harborough Town

But The Kettering Town boss is expecting it to be a nervy and tense occasion.

The Poppies take on neighbours the Bees (ko 7.45pm) targeting a place in the final against either AFC Telford United or Halesowen Town on Bank Holiday Monday afternoon.

A crowd of 2,500-plus is set to turn out for the big game, with Harborough selling out their allocation in just 44 minutes on Monday night, and the Poppies fans set to come out in their numbers.

Just 15 miles and a county border separate the clubs, and there is sure to be a cracking atmosphere for a game that will see the dream of promotion live on for one team, and a swift end to the season for the other.

Bees boss Mitch Austin is a former Kettering Town assistant boss and has a huge amount of respect for the club, but he would also love nothing more than to beat the Poppies in what is a huge encounter.

"It is a great fixture for the fans, and for everybody around the town, although probably not for me," said Lavery.

"Mitch is going to come here wanting to beat us, and I get that because it is a local derby.

"But we are Kettering Town, we have home advantage, and there will probably be 2,000 or 2,500 here on Wednesday.

"There were 1,800 there on Saturday (for the 2-2 draw with Banbury United), so can we get 2,000-plus in the play-offs? I think we will, and it is game on. The best team will win."

One slight issue with Kettering having that home advantage is the well-worn playing surface at Latimer Park, but could that be an asset with the Bees used to playing their home games on a plastic 4G surface.

Asked if the Poppies could deliver by playing the 'nasty' side of the game, Lavery said: "We have shown we can do that side of it, but we are not that type of team.

"Yes, you have to have a different string to your bow, I get that, but we have beaten plenty of teams here.

"I think we have lost two games at home all season, so it is a bit of a fortress here whether people like it or not.

"I would rather have them here with the fans behind us than playing at Harborough Town.

"Play-offs are won by the odd goal or two, and I am hoping it swings in our favour come Wednesday."

Kettering will go into the game having lost just one of their final 13 matches of the league season, although they won only six of those encounters.

Harborough were the league's form team in the second half of the season, lifting themselves from the relegation zone to a fifth place finish with a run of just two defeats in 21 matches, with the Bees winning 14 of them.