A SINGLE strike from Callum Walmsley was enough for Kendal County to clinch a hard fought Westmorland FA Senior Challenge Cup win.

In front of a good crowd at Kendal Town FC, they held off the challenge of a dogged Keswick side in a fiercely competitive final.

It was Keswick who applied the early pressure, Richard Bannister looking a real threat and Tom Atkinson having a good chance with a strike from the right hand side of the box which flashed across the face of the Kendal goal.

However, Kendal defended well with former Keswick man Harry Routledge in outstanding form.

Keswick continued to battle to break through the Kendal wall but it was County who made the breakthrough on 24 minutes.

A quick break led to a defensive mistake which gifted Walmsley a clear run at goal and he made no mistake, slotting the ball into the bottom right hand corner of John Phillip's net.

Keswick's frustration with decisions and mistakes boiled over in the next 20 minutes, resulting in a spate of four yellow cards for dissent, but they made no real progress in bringing the scores to parity and the teams went in at half time with County still ahead.

The second half followed much the same pattern, with Keswick having the majority of the possession but unable to make the breakthrough.

However, Kendal were dangerous on the break with Zak Marriott and Sam Reilly both clearing after goalmouth scrambles.

Bailey Carlos was effective for Kendal but was well matched by Josh Hilton, and the game ebbed and flowed as Kendal worked hard to protect their slender lead with good defending and game management.

Keswick continued to push forward with both Southern and Steve Hindmarch making inroads into County’s defence, but their best opportunity fell to George Frampton who fired wide of the right hand post.

And though their opponents continued to press, Kendal held on and saw out five minutes of injury time to clinch the victory spoils.