Preston Titans 117 v 37 Kendal Warriors

KENDAL made the relatively short trip to Preston on Sunday to face play off chasing Preston Titans.

The Titans had ran out victors by 26 points when the pair had met earlier in the season but would now face the Warriors on their home patch.

Kendal's small squad was pushed to the limits with both Peter Howarth and Kevin Mason ruled out through injury. The latter has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after suffering a recurrence of his ankle injury which had already forced him to sit out a number of games this season.

The game proved to be a very one sided affair straight from the tip as the much more aggressive and quicker Titans set about dominating the Warriors particularly on rebounds, with the hosts picking up numerous second and third opportunities allowing Preston to race off to an early lead.

Points from Gareth France was all Kendal could offer in reply as the Titans led 26 - 9 at the break.

Decision making and composure on the ball failed Kendal in the second quarter as Preston pressed the visitors into numerous mistakes allowing the hosts to continually score points on the break and dramatically increase their lead.

The squad size of the Titans was already starting to show as they constantly changed their personnel to keep their players fresh, which in turn allowed them to keep their pressure up.

Other Warriors were now contributing on the offensive end as Nathan Williams, Keith McInnes and Phil Mason each scored points but Kendal's inability to consistently cope with Preston's pressure continued to be the story of the quarter as frequent converted turn overs saw Preston score a massive 41 points in the quarter to Kendal's ten.

The second half produced a more positive display from Kendal as France and Williams set about adding to the Kendal score line.

However the Warriors continued to be inconsistent in their ability to handle the Titans' pressure.

Marc Crockford and Tom Withnell worked hard to help the visitors break the press, but still too often the Cumbrian team gave the ball away cheaply.

Matt Basedow and Mason added further points for Kendal as the Warriors continued to try and offer some resistance to the Preston onslaught, but the damage had long been done.

Scorers

G France 20 M Basedow 6 N Williams 5 P Mason 4 K McInnes 2 T Withnell 0 M Crockford 0