Report: Kendal Town Vs Cammell Laird
Injury Plagued Town suffer second cup exit in three days
Injury Plagued Town suffer second cup exit in three days as upto 6 players were left on the sidelines.
Match Report Provided Courtesy of Daniel Orr Reporter at the Westmorland Gazette
Kendal Town 0 Cammell Laird 2
FA Trophy 1st Qualifying Round Replay
KENDAL Town were knocked out of their second cup competition in three days after struggling to cope with the challenge of lively Cammell Laird.
Despite a bright start which saw Kevin Leadbitter hit a sweet volley just over the bar after two minutes, Kendal failed to impose themselves on the game.
Jack Duggan, Josh kenworthy and Jordan Tucker were all sidelined after suffering injuries in the FA Cup Vs Dunston UTS. Danny Wisdom and Alex Taylor both had to taken off during Sundays FA Cup defeat to FC United of Manchester while Scott Harries was only fit enough to start on the bench.
No doubt the list of injuries – with six players sidelined – was partly to blame, but credit must be given to the Merseyside team, whose pressing game high up the pitch meant Town were unable to settle into any kind of rhythm.
Jack Duggan, Josh kenworthy and Jordan Tucker were all sidelined after suffering injuries in the FA Cup Vs Dunston UTS. Danny Wisdom and Alex Taylor both had to taken off during Sundays FA Cup defeat to FC United of Manchester.
That said, Kendal did have two great chances – including a shot which was cleared off the line - but they could have no complaints at being beaten by a team who, despite being a league below them, were their equal on the night.
Town’s midfield set up in a diamond formation - with Ian Kilford at the base, Simon Wills and captain Alex Randell ahead of him, and Leadbetter at the tip, occasionally drifting to the right to support the ambitious runs down the right flank by Naim El-Harrati.
There were encouraging signs for Kendal in the first 20 minutes, with Randell working hard to find pockets of space and to link play, and home debutant Sefton Gonzales making a nuisance of himself up front.
But as the first half wore on it was the visitors who began to take control.
Keen to stretch the play down both wings, Cammell fed their impressive wingers Aaron Bowen and Aiden Houghton at any opportunity to exploit the space behind Kendal’s adventurous full-backs El-Harrati and Danny Williams.
And the Wirral team’s efforts paid off when their wingers combined for the opening goal on 30 minutes – Bowen’s corner from the right was met at the near post by the unmarked Houghton, whose header was too powerful for Craig Dootson to keep out.
This should have galvanised Kendal, yet their build-up play became laboured.
They wanted time to put their foot on the ball and spot a pass, but Cammell were always snapping at their heels, while Town’s on-loan striker Chris Mason was kept under control by commanding centre-back Lee Atherton.
The start of the second-half saw manager Lee Ashcroft switching to a 4-5-1, with Mason replaced by Scott Harries, who went to the right while Leadbetter switched to the left.
Within six minutes of the restart good work by Leadbetter led to a shot by Harries which was easily saved by Cammell’s Kevin Atherton.
Cammell continued to threaten, winning two corners before striker Joe Feeney was bundled over in front of goal on 55 minutes for the first of their two penalties.
Feeney stepped up but was foiled by the feet of Dootson, whose save sparked Kendal into a brief period of action and led to their two best chances, helped in part by a switch to a more orthodox 4-4-2 after substitute Dave Foster went up front having replaced Kilford.
First a terrific low cross from the left by Williams was met with a superb first time strike from close range by Foster, tipped over brilliantly by Atherton. Then the resulting corner saw a chance cleared off the line.
But the excitement for the home crowd was short-lived as just six minutes later, Houghton skipped past two challenges on the left to deliver a dangerous cross which was handled by Paul Alexander, who was booked for his trouble.
Feeney’s replacement Jamie Henders stepped up and slotted home to finish off Kendal’s hopes of FA Trophy glory for another year.
From then on, Kendal seemed completely deflated and failed to create another chance before the final whistle confirmed their exit from the competition.
Kendal Town
Craig Dootson, Naim El-Harrati, Danny Williams, Paul Alexander, Rory Winters, Simon Wills, Alex Randell (C), Chris Mason (rep Scott Harries 46 minutes), Sefton Gonzales, Ian Kilford (rep David Foster 59 minutes), Kevin Leadbetter.
Subs not used: Ben Fishwick, Liam Shields, Josh Welsby.
Cammell Laird
Kevin Atherton, Steve Ferrigan, Chay Dysart, Mike Grogan, Dan O’Brian, Lee Atherton, John Couch, Aaron Bowen (rep Marc Stephens 90 minutes), Joe Feeney (rep Jamie Henders 63 minutes), Joe Gibiluru, Aiden Houghton (rep Freddie Potter 80 minutes)
Sub not used: Sean Richards
Key man: Alex Randell - never stopped running and constantly tried to get Kendal moving. His passing range is very impressive.
