Kendal Town 1, Eastwood Town 1

A RED card shown to the opposition goalkeeper probably cost Kendal Town their first league win of the season.

One goal ahead and with 16 minutes left to play John Dann burst through the middle of the field with just the onrushing keeper to beat.

Keeper Danny Bryant's run took him well outside the box and his foul merited a red card, but the irony of the situation was that Dann had skipped away from the foul and was teeing up for a simple shot when the whistle went.

If that shot had been put away there would have been no way back for the depleted Eastwood side, but the free-kick came to nothing and bad luck struck again in the 90th minute when Gary Castledine's free-kick from a similar central position at the other end took the slightest deflection from the left-hand side of the defensive wall - slight, but enough to evade the desperately diving Mike Kinsella.

Kendal's intent was signalled when Danny Kent powered in a long-range attempt in the first minute, while on the right hand side Stuart Darley was worrying the Eastwood defence and getting in good crosses, the best dropping to Lee O'Keefe who was desperately unlucky to be ruled marginally offside.

Yet it was Eastwood who nearly went ahead after 18 minutes.

A well-struck corner was headed solidly in from the edge of the six-yard box, but Kinsella's flying dive allowed him to get both hands to it.

Kendal's best chance of the half came when a low corner by Kent whistled through the defence to O'Keefe, but he mistimed his shot.

Overall Kendal looked the better side, yet whenever it seemed it was only a matter of time before Eastwood would succumb, the visitors made a dangerous break.

Just before half-time a speculative low shot had Kinsella scrambling to make a save.

From the re-start Kendal pressure continued, with some clever interplay, particularly between Phil Brown, Ged Courtney and O'Keefe, but the final thrust was missing.

On 52 minutes Griffiths substituted Paul Crompton for Fahey and six minutes later it paid off.

O'Keefe put him clear of the central defence with a nicely weighted through ball.

Crompton's shimmy sent the keeper the wrong way and he put the ball neatly into the net.

With the pressure Kendal had been showing that should have been it, but it wasn't and Eastwood were desperately unlucky not to equalise in the 66th minute when defenders and Kinsella got in an awful tangle giving the visitors a free pot at goal.

Fortunately the ball hit the underside of the crossbar, went straight down and spun back out.

With Eastwood forwards Nick Kennerdale and Gary Castledine making increasingly penetrating runs Griffiths opted for fresh legs, substituting Dann for Brown and it nearly did the trick as his penetrating runs led to the desperate rush which earned the Eastwood keeper a red card.

Just when it looked as if Kendal had survived the last of the Eastwood attacks a clumsy challenge just outside the box gave the visitors a free-kick and the surprise equaliser.

Team: Kinsella, D.

Brown, Hodgson, Burrow, Fahey (Crompton 52mins), O'Keefe, Kent, Reynolds.

Brown (Dann 62mins), Darley, Courtney (Hayton 80mins).