Match Report: Kendal Town Vs Stafford R
A Luke Shotton goal on 72 minutes condemned Town to their first home defeat of the Season..
Saturday 10th September 2011
A Luke Shotton goal on 72 minutes condemned Kendal Town to their first home defeat in the Evo-Stik Premier League this season.
Match Report provided by Patrick O'Kane - Senior News/Sport Reporter @ The Westmorland Gazette
A Luke Shotton goal on 72 minutes condemned Kendal Town to their first home defeat in the Evo-Stik Premier League this season.
Town started with the same XI that won 3-1 against FC United of Manchester on Tuesday night, but it was the visitors, Stafford Rangers, who controlled the early stages.
Glynn Brocklehurst was in shooting mood and three efforts inside the opening 10 minutes, all comfortably dealt with by Tom Newton, let Town know it would not be plain sailing.
But Town came into the game and forged their first opening on 18 minutes when Alex Taylor broke into the box, but he was hacked down and the ball went behind for a corner which was cleared.
And just two minutes later Danny Wisdom and Danny Williams combined on the left wing but the final ball into the box failed to trouble the visiting defence.
Rangers should have took the lead on 24 minutes but Blackhurst spooned his shot from four yards over the top of Newton's goal when it looked easier to score.
On the stroke of half time Mark Jackson should have put Town ahead when he latched on to a trough ball but keeper Sam Johnson got down well to thwart Kendal's leading scorer.
With the scores level at half time, Town boss Lee Ashcroft made a change, with Rory Winters replacing Mark Peers who had been suffering with a thigh strain.
Town were brighter in the second half and Williams made much of the play down the left wing, and on 47 minutes he made a darting run into the box, but his final ball was weak and Johnson collected.
On 55 minutes Blackhurst had yet another effort parried by Newton but the breakthrough was coming and on 72 minutes a superb solo effort from Shotton was to provide the winner.
Picking the ball up on the left wing, Shotton danced his way to the edge of the box unchallenged and unleashed a low drive into Newton's bottom left corner of goal which sent the travelling fans wild.
Just a moment later Town could have been level from a Keiran Walmsley free kick but his shot from 20 yards edged narrowly wide of Johnson's far post.
Gary McEvatt and Tom Kilifin were sent on to find a way back for Town and the latter should have equalised with 13 minutes to go.
A Mark Jackson effort came back off the crossbar but as Kilifin went to poke home from a yard out a visiting defender tracked back and steered the ball over the bar for a corner.
And signs it wasn't to be Town's day were compounded when McEvatt struck wide from three yards at the near post after a long throw by Marc Joseph.
But Rangers held on to the points to move themselves up the table as Town lost ground on the leading pack.
Attendance: 258
