Kendal Town's new under-17 development team were defeated 2-1 by Workington Under 18’s in a friendly encounter at The ST & B Accountants Stadium on Wednesday night.

The Under 17s, who were playing their first ever, game impressed under the floodlights and were unfortunate not to get a result against a very strong Workington under-18 side.

Kendal dominated without creating too many chances, especially in the opening exchanges of the game, while Workington did a lot of defending. Any attacking threat was nullified by Kendal’s defence.

The first opportunity came after 25 minutes when Jack Brench fired the ball over from close range. Brench found time and space in the penalty area after a clinical Kendal attack left the visitors caught off guard at the back.

Jacob Matthews also impressed as he used his strength to disrupt the Workington defence while the visiting goalkeeper made a comfortable save to deny Brench.

Workington opened the scoring after 42 minutes when Aston Reynolds worked his way into the penalty box before unleashing a powerful strike into the top left hand corner of the net.

Kendal continued to look strong during the second half and yet again continued to press while efforts by Matthews and Brench were saved by the visiting keeper.

The young Mintcakes equalised midway through the second half when a ball into the area was slotted home by Brench. Kendal played some delightful football as Workington were caught out, allowing Brench to beat the offside trap and level the score.

Kendal searched for the winner while Workington’s best efforts fell to Macauley Sharp and Leigh Flett.

However, Workington regained the lead with five minutes left when Sharp slotted the ball home from close range.

The goal, just like in the first half, came against the run of play, and with little time left Workington held out for the win.

There were many positives to take from the under 17's inaugural game, with manager Tosh Farrell delight with the performance.