Uni Bond - last minute winner (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Uni Bond - last minute winner

8:54am Friday 8th April 2005 in Sport By Dennis Aris

DEEP into injury time a Lee Ashcroft header sealed an exciting comeback to keep Kendal’s play-off bid on course.

Final score Kendal Town 3 - Spalding United 2.

It was no more than battling Town deserved as they came back from 2-0 down with a show of attacking football that prevented the visitors even having shot on Kendal’s goal in the second half.

The fact that Kendal went two goals behind in the first place was something of a shock as they dominated the game from the outset and had the ball in the Spalding net four minutes from the start. Unfortunately Ged Smith’s free-kick into the box glanced off the foot of a Town player, inadvertently putting Peter Smith offside as he raced in to tap the ball home.

When a penalty was refused for a foul on Ashcroft it looked only a matter of time before Town would take the lead, but two glaring defensive errors then left Town with a mountain to climb.

In the 10th and 22nd minutes tall centre-half Gary Pawson was left unmarked eight yards out to head home crosses from the right for virtually identical goals.

For the remainder of the first half it looked destined not to be Town’s day as they were denied what looked like a clear penalty for hand-ball from a fierce Ian Kilford shot, fell foul of frequent use of the whistle by Mr B. Roberts and saw several good stops by Spalding keeper Ian Pledger.

It could have been even worse for Town, for in the 45th minute Spalding’s Andrew Stanhope rattled the bar from a free-kick.

From the restart Town’s all out bombardment began and on 57 minutes they were awarded a penalty when Ged Smith was hacked down just inside the edge of the box.

When Pledger got down quickly to smother Ashcroft’s spot kick it still looked bleak, but three minutes later Kilford raided to the bye-line and drove the ball hard across the penalty area where Ashcroft made amends for his earlier spot-kick hitch by tapping in from three yards.

Kendal rained innumerable balls into the box and won at least a dozen corners as they strove for the equaliser and inevitably it was from one of those corners that it arrived.

Ged Smith’s well-flighted kick was met by Dene Whittal-Williams whose 71st minute header went in off the underside of the bar.

With Town totally dominant, there were near misses by David Foster and Ashcroft, but four minutes into injury time a draw looked inevitable.

Then Ged Smith delivered another peach of a corner into the goalmouth. Pledger got a hand to it, but could only push the ball towards the far post where Ashcroft was lurking to head in.

How they rated: Thornley 6; Rigby 8, McMenemy 6, Whittal-Williams 7, McKenna 7; Woodruffe 7, Kilford 8; P. Smith 8, Foster 7 (Burrow 6 from 89 minutes), Ashcroft 8, G. Smith 9.