Preston Grasshoppers 23 Kendal 16 (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Preston Grasshoppers 23 Kendal 16

9:32am Tuesday 20th December 2011 in Rugby By Frank Jameson

National League 2 North
Preston Grasshoppers 23
Kendal 16
Preston and Kendal were both very pleased to see the last game of the year take place at Lightfoot Green, after the snow showers of Friday, but the pitch was very heavy, and it inevitably cut up as the game progressed.

Preston started off very well and scored after only six minutes' play, when a magnificent break by Connor Murphy straight from a 30m scrum, which saw Murphy charge over between the posts, Graham Holgate converting.

Andrew Boardley pulled back three points a few minutes later, but Preston were well on top, keeping the Cumbrians pinned in their half for most of the 40 minutes.

The floodgates opened again after 26 minutes when Jack Ward punched through a big hole in midfield, and quick passing put Matt Hughes over in the corner. Graham Holgate added a magnificent conversion from the touchline for a 14-3 lead.

But slowly, the Black and Ambers started to move forwards and when Mark Bowman emulated his opponent's earlier run when he picked up from a scrum, he raced down the blindside, before combining well with his scrum half, Simon Davidson who raced down the touchline, gaining 30m.

This seemed to give Kendal heart, and five minutes before the break, there was a great catch and drive from a line out 30m out, and suddenly Davidson sneaked down the touchline to score in the corner and Kendal were back in the game at 14-8.

As the second half began Kendal camped on the Preston line, and Chris Gale was yellow carded. Kendal took advantage of the extra man to drive over in the corner, Garry Holmes gaining the last touch as they drove over, but it was too far out to be converted.

The Cumbrians started to sense their first away win of the season, but Graham Holroyd settled the home side's nerves with a magnificent display of kicking, banging over three excellent penalties out of the clinging mud in only 12 minutes, stretching Preston's lead once more.

But Kendal were not done for yet, and this time it was Duncan Green who picked up a loose ball and made a great run down the middle of the park.

Ian Thompson started to rotate his bench, as Steffan Thomas and Ben Craghill were the first to arrive, and they made an impact straight away.

Andrew Boardley narrowed the gap with a penalty, then Matty Houghton and Glenn Chesher came charging on for the last ten minutes of the game. Leo Mercer made a great 30m run down the middle, but Preston's scrambling defence held sway.

As Preston tired, Kendal laid siege to the home line and won four successive penalties, but opting for a scrum each time - the score stood at 23-16, and three points from a penalty was not enough.

Another home defender was yellow carded for coming in from the side but it made no difference, as Preston held out for victory as Kendal picked up a losing bonus point.