Visitors claw back to earn a share of spoils
IT was a good game at the Community Ground on Saturday, two in-form teams, a decent crowd and a warm sunny day.
Tthe hosts, safe from any immediate worries, faced a visiting team who really needed to win to secure a place in the promotion play-offs. They brought a jolly group with them, many in fancy dress as both teams celebrated the end of the league season.
Kendal started the game on the offensive but after weathering initial pressure, Burscough got into the game and after being the better team for the last quarter hour of the first half David Dempsey’s men took a 2-0 lead into the interval.
Kendal simply had to do better and in the 53rd minute put themselves back into the game before levelling matters up 15 minutes from the end, the game finishing with two tired teams fairly even at the final whistle.
Kendal almost snatched the lead in the opening seconds but Burscough survived and during the opening ten minutes one thing was crystal clear, the Linnets were going to have to get a grip of Kendal left winger Steve Yawson, otherwise it would be a long afternoon.
Yawson, wearing the eleven shirt, went particularly close in the eighth minute curling one effort inches wide of the far post as the home support held their breath.
In the 15th minute, Burscough showed that they had finally settled when forward Harvey Sample won the ball in a challenge with Kendal’s Patrick Allington only to see Kendal’s former Linnets and Skem goalkeeper Chris Cheetham parry the ball away for a corner.
It got better still for Burscough on 22 minutes, a freekick was lifted into the penalty area from the right, it was headed on and Kian Bell finished neatly at the far post to make it 1-0 to the Linnets.
Kendal went very close to equalising on 29 minutes but a header from their captain Allington was cleared off the Linnets line by Anthony Walsh.
On 40 minutes it was 2-0 to Burscough, Steve Rigby drove the ball from the right hand side and it hit a hand in the penalty area, referee Sam Orritt gave a penalty, Kendal protested, it had similarities to the incident at Goodison on Sunday; Rigby kept his head though and efficiently added to the woes of the visiting players.
The ebullient Kendal support was rather quiet during the interval but it didn’t require a top football pundit to predict how they would approach the second-half and they duly went to save their season.
Experienced centre forward James Bailey pulled one goal back on 53 minutes with a carefully placed header.
In the next ten minutes Burscough goalkeeper Kier Barry made a good save from Bailey Kenny and on 63 minutes a magnificent reaction one to save a thunderous shot from James Bailey.
On 75 minutes Kendal levelled, the ball going through to far post where substitute Finley Lynch turned the ball into the net, a goal that was highly celebrated by the supporters behind the Railway End goal.
The game became stretched in the final fifteen minutes but defences remained in control at both ends and chances dried up.
The game petered out into a draw, it wasn’t enough for Kendal who when the results came through they occupied what is best described as an insecure fourth play-off place, relying on Charnock Richard not winning all their last four games, the final one being staged at the Community Ground on Saturday when there may be some Kendal fans returning for a second Saturday, Burscough didn’t appear particularly displeased with their afternoons work.
Barry, Cannon-Noren, Barrigan, Ball, McCulloch ©, Bell, Walsh, Kay, Sample, Rigby, Hilditch Subs Grindrod, Cox, Hamilton, Sandle, Coughlan
Cheetham, Russell, Stanley, Kenny, Holden, Allington ©, Winder, Craig, Bailey, Dudley, Yawson Subs Gray, Thomas, Flynn, Lynch, Dickson
Sam Orritt
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