Football – Nine-goal hammering for Kendal. (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Football – Nine-goal hammering for Kendal.

10:55pm Saturday 10th July 2004 in Sport By Dennis Aris

Kendal Town 1, Carlisle United 9.

Two goalscoring bursts emphasised the gulf between Carlisle United and Kendal Town.

Carlisle, newly relegated from the Third Division of the Football League were out to show that they have the capacity to bounce straight back and were sharper and more incisive in all departments.

Brendan McGill, jinked his way to finding space to hit the first goal on 15 minutes, and although Carlisle's front runners always looked dangerous it was not until the 31st minute that tricky winger Carlos Roca bamboozled two defenders before firing a second past keeper Mark Thornley, Kendal manager Tony Hesketh's new keeper could also do little about the pass from Roca that put McGill clear to fire in his second inm the 40th minute and, with Town still reeling, a pass from Karl Hawley split the defence a minute later for striker Andy Preece to make it 4-0.

The second half saw both teams introduce what are likely to be their second string players and the action was more muted until the 68th minute when Nigel Taylor, who otherwise had a solid game in defence brought down Craig Farrell. Kendal's first choice keeper last season, Lee Ward, showed that he will not be easily displaced by diving to his left and saving Farrell's well-struck penalty kick.

The 79th minute saw the start of Carlisle's second goal burst. Farrell seized on a half-cleared ball which fell kindly for him and blasted in the fifth. Less than a minute later he completed his hat-trick with the goal of the game, a deliberately struck 25-yarder which curled into the top corner of the net.

Despite the score-line Town, four divisions below Carlisle in the football pyramid, had not been playing badly and a minute later winger Chris Bennett was rewarded for an afternoon of ceaseless effort when he cut in struck the ball well beyond the reach of keeper Peter Keen for a consolation goal.

Carlisle were not finished, however and Hanley netted twice in successive minutes with Bradley rounding of the rout by lashing the ball into the roof of the net three minutes from the end.