UniBond: Top of bill duel (From The Westmorland Gazette)

UniBond: Top of bill duel

9:46am Friday 11th March 2005 in Sport By Dennis Aris

RAMPANT Kendal aim to make it six of the best tomorrow when top of the table North Ferriby United visit Parkside.

Riding high on the back of five straight victories, Town welcome back in-form Lee Ashcroft, although his return gives manager Tony Hesketh a selection headache as his team has performed well during Ashcroft's two-match suspension.

"Sadly someone is going to be disappointed tomorrow," said Hesketh.

"Ashcroft scored five goals in the three games prior to his suspension and is likely to play against Ferriby. He is influential on the team and has the experience to see us through to the end of the season.

"Kenny Mayers has been suffering from a slight back strain for three or four weeks now and there may be chance to give him a breather on Saturday, but we shall see.

"Stuart Cliff has had a setback with his hernia operation and has to see the surgeon again and Nigel Taylor is about a week away from being fully fit. But with 11 games to go it is a happy position to be spoilt for choice of players and another victory this weekend would be the culmination of 15 or 16 days' good work.

"Meanwhile during the past week it has been same old story, more success.

"Saturday was sweet because, with Willenhall and North Ferriby losing, it looks as if Ilkeston are favourites to win the league. Yet we more than matched them in every department. They are a very good side, but we were comfortable winners.

"Chorley was more of a routine victory on Tuesday, although I felt that the last five or six games in quick succession had taken a wee bit of a toll on some limbs.

"Scoring three goals in our first-half performance won the game for us. In the second half we didn't have as much possession and Chorley showed us what they were about and I suppose they were unlucky not to score from a couple of skirmishes around the box.

In the end the four-goal advantage was very welcome on our goal difference.

Kendal Town................4 Chorley....................... 0 CLASSY Kendal were a cut above Chorley as they notched a fifth successive victory and consolidated their fourth-place standing in the UniBond League First Division, writes Dennis Aris.

It sharpened the apppetite for an exciting mouth-watering test against the current leaders North Ferriby, who are next up this Saturday.

A win would go some way to opening up the title race as the top two teams come back to the pursuers.

Three strikes in the first half killed the game off against Chorley and it took only nine minutes for the first to arrive.

Ged Smith lofted Kendal's first corner into the heart of the Chorley area where Ricky Mercer rose to head firmly past keeper John Gillies.

They doubled the advantage on 18 minutes, ace playmaker Kenny Mayers squaring the ball to unmarked Peter Smith who fired in from 10 yards.

Mercer and Mayers both had further half chances as Kendal produced some constructive passing football, while Ged Smith on the left wing showed skill and guile .

Given a start largely because Lee Ashcroft was suspended, Smith's performance will give Town boss Tony Hesketh pause for thought about future team seledftion.

Yet despite Kendal's general dominance Chorley were unlucky not to get on the scoresheet.

Neil Smith's speculative shot from the edge of the box hit the bar and then Kendal keeper Mark Thornley did well to punch clear when sandwiched by two big forwards.

It was Chorley's best spell of the half, but on the stroke of half-time a Kendal break out saw midfielder Ian Kilford sweep a ball out to the right.

David Foster let fly a long low shot which slithered under Gillies into the net.

At 3-0 up and with Kendal's defence largely in control, the second half was destined to be an anti-climax and so it proved.

Foster was unlucky in the 52nd minute when pulled back by the arm as he raced clear though on goal and Russ McKenna blasted a 35-yard effort just wide.

At the other end Kendal were nearly caught when Chorley substitute James Vermiglio raced to the bye-line and squeezed in a cross which hit the post.

A bizarre incident happened in the 70th minutewhen a goalmouth scramble saw the ball pushed a yard back to Thornley, who promptly dropped on it and was yellow carded for handling a back-pass.

The resulting indirect free kick from the edge of the six -yard box cannoned off a Kendal body as all 11 players stood strung out along the goal-line.

A minute after coming on as a replacement for Kilford, Chris Bennett headed just over the Chorley bar, but it was the visitors who nearly pulled one back in the 79th minute when a looping ball bounced in front of Thornley but higher than he expected. The keeper recovered well with an acrobatic backward lunge to push the ball away for a corner.

Dene Whittal-Williams then cleared a snap-shot from four yards off the line, but in the 91st minute it was Foster who added the bonus to Town's goal difference when he was played into the clear 10 yards out by substitute Michael Jack and lashed his shot into the right hand side of the net.

How they rated: Thornley 7; Rigby 7, Woodruffe 7, Whittall-Williams 7, McKenna 7, P. Smith 7, Mercer 7, Kilford 6 (Bennett 6, from 74 minutes), G. Smith 8 (Jack 6, from 85 minutes ; Foster 8, Mayers 8 (McMenemy 6, from 74 minutes).