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Friday 14th April 2006
Kendal Town 2, Bridlington Town 1
A kick in the teeth for the seasiders, who made the energy-sapping five hour
trip to the Lake District on a Bank Holiday, and went toe-to-toe with a
rugged and direct home side for 90 minutes only to succumb to a last-gasp
defected goal. It was a sickener for Pete Smurthwaite’s youthful side,
whose display of attitude and commitment would certainly have won the day
against lesser opposition. Kendal were a throwback to the kind of side Town
faced in the Premier Division last season, and fully justified their top two
standing in the table. On this showing, promotion appears a certainty, as
Town have beaten the sides in the chasing pack, and the Cumbrian outfit
would certainly do more than make up the numbers next season in the higher
division.
Playing up the considerable slope, Town started brightly, with Ali Benson
and Ben Eastwood looking to use pace to get in behind a muscular centre-back
pairing. The travelling support, who had sat through seemingly endless
miles of roadworks and jams on the M6 to watch their team, got their just
reward in the 9th minute. Benson had drifted out wide onto the right flank,
forcing a corner out of full-back Paul Rigby, which Anthony Bowsley
delivered long to the far post. Evergreen defender Wayne Lewis allowed the
ball to drop, and sent a teasing cross back in, which ‘keeper James
Salisbury inexplicably left unchallenged, and the ball dropped in off the
post at the far corner.
Kendal came straight back at Town, and their pace and strength going down
the gradient began to tell. A brilliant defensive header from Shaun Baker
on 24 minutes stopped a goalbound shot, and then shortly afterwards, Kendal
frontman Chris Ward sent a close range effort into the side netting when
well placed. A mix-up at the back on 35 minutes let in Dene
Whittal-Williams, and their were howls of protest from the home crowd as he
appeared to be pulled down by Baker when through on goal. The referee stood
his ground and simply gave a corner. Suddenly, from the flag-kick, Town
broke upfield, and pacy winger Danny Buttle had the home defence on the back
foot. He cut infield to find Eastwood, who cracked a low shot narrowly
wide. This was the Town striker’s last involvement in the game, as minutes
later, he appeared to land awkwardly following a challenge, and limped off
the field. Town fans were hoping the imminent half-time break would do the
trick, but the striker only emerged for the second half to sit in the stand
with an ice pack.
Youngster Gary Wardell was Eastwood’s replacement for the second period,
and
despite a fine showing of running and commitment, the sheer size and
experience of the home defence was always going to prove a tough nut to
crack for a player in only his second outing at this level. Town were
forced onto the defensive for much of the second half, as Kendal began to
dominate, and but for a colossal centre-halves’ display by Carl Giblin
and
Craig Suddaby, the game could have been put out of reach long before the
equaliser on 59 minutes. Winger Ged Smith, who scored both of his side’s
goals when the teams met at Queensgate and was again the architect behind
most of Kendal’s attacking play, got on the end of a cross into the Town
box
to send a looping header back over Gavin Kelly in to the far corner.
Kendal tails were up, but despite having half an hour to find a winner, they
again came up against a brick wall of a Town defence. The seasiders even
had a chance to nick the points with 5 minutes to go. Buttle got free down
the left to find Wardell, who worked a fine one-two with Benson to gain a
corner. The ball came in, and Wayne Wallace sent a header inches over the
bar.
With the added time board being held up, it was going to be heartbreak time
for Smurthwaite’s young battlers. Kendal threw numbers into the Town
half
again, and after two heroic close range blocks by Lewis and Suddaby, the
ball reached Ward 12 yards out. He scuffed his shot, which Kelly would have
gobbled up, only for the ball to deflect off Giblin’s shin and into the
net.
What sort of crazy footballing law dictates that the best player on the
pitch for 90 minutes has to gift the opposition victory with an injury-time
goal he for once couldn’t do anything about, Town fans didn’t know,
but
it’s clearly not a very fair one. It was the cruellest of blows for Town,
and one their performance simply did not merit. Hopefully they will be able
to let their frustrations out on already-relegated Bishop Auckland at
Queensgate on Monday.