Ossett Town 1- Kendal Town 0.

THE ODDS were firmly stacked against Kendal Town ahead of their away trip to Ossett Town at the weekend.

Not only had they to beat the promotion chasers, but they also had to rely on Matlock Town taking care of fellow strugglers Farsley Celtic.

Sadly the escape plan failed on both accounts with a late Ossett goal and a comfortable 3-0 win for Farsley on their own Throstle Nest ground, dooming Kendal to North West Counties League football next season,

In the early stages there were chances for both Ossett and Kendal, Matt Smithard going close on 10 minutes for the home side and James Shepherd guilty of missing a glaring opportunity at the other end two minutes later.

A confident Ossett side then mounted a flurry of assaults on the Kendal goal, but poor finishing kept the game goalless, with Kendal looking to catch the Yorkshire side on the counter-attack.

After good work by David Foster, Stuart Cliff arrived late only to see his close-range header saved by keeper Bracey.

Foster found himself in a promising position moments later, but a poor first touch allowed the home defence to clear.

Shepherd successfully beat the offside trap with a well-timed run down the left flank, but he over ran the ball allowing Bracey to gather on the edge of the area.

On 63 minutes Bracey presented Cliff with the ball when he miscued a clearance, Cliff's snap-shot was denied a goal by the outstretched hand of the relieved keeper.

An industrious team display looked to have earned them a creditable if not significant draw, but with five minutes remaining Featherstone's glancing header crept inside the post to sum up Kendal's season of disappointments.