KENDAL COUNTY closed the gap at the summit of West Lancashire League Division Two with Dan Ferguson’s hat-trick proving the highlight of a convincing win over Croston Sports.

Goalkeeper Jamie Wells and Curtis Nicholson made their County debuts with the defender marking his first appearance with the opening goal, converting Gary Baker’s cross at the near post.

The home side controlled the majority of the first-half and doubled their lead before the break as Nicholson headed a corner back across goal for Ferguson to nod home.

Ferguson added a third in a dominant second period and completed his hat-trick of headers from another Baker corner, with Neil Hayton’s charges eight points off top spot with games in hand.

A dramatic David Lyneweather equaliser in stoppage time earned Milnthorpe Corinthians a share of the spoils against league leaders Askam United at The Strand.

The hosts opened the scoring shortly before half-time as man of the match Craig Edmondson – a scorer in last week’s win over Stoneclough – headed home a Lee McNeil free-kick.

The visitors restored parity moments after the restart when Callum Rayner fired past Adam Hornby – his 13th goal of a productive campaign.

Mike Packham hit the Askam crossbar while leading scorer Ryan Close went close before Declan Bowman’s strike in injury time triggered late drama.

With seconds left on the clock, Lyneweather latched onto a sliced Rayner clearance to slot home and secure a share of the spoils, with Milnthorpe now trailing Askam by seven points.

Elsewhere in Division Two, Matt Lawlor scored twice as GSK Ulverston Rangers played out a 3-3 draw at Ladybridge while Furness Cavaliers lost 1-0 at Stoneclough.

Ambleside United returned from fifth-place Bolton County with a share of the spoils after a 3-3 draw, with Jake Routledge netting two for George Gudgeon’s side.

An Adam Spence strike proved no more than a consolation as Furness Rovers conceded five in defeat at table-toppers Lostock St. Gerards, while Dalton United went down 3-0 at Poulton.

Meanwhile in the Premier Division, Slyne with Hest won the mid-table clash with Longridge Town with Josh Butler and Callam Moore doing the damage in front of goal.