A tough encounter was expected with the visit of Kendal Town and they didn't disappoint. In a fiercely contested 1st half, chances were at a premium as both sides battled furiously in the middle of the pitch. Faye hit two well struck shots but unfortunately the keeper was behind them all the way. At the other end, Kendal were restricted to a few shots that flew high and wide. Kendal nearly broke the deadlock when they attacked down the left and Newlaithes breathed a sigh of relief as the ball crept across the face of the goalmouth and past the right hand post. Claire came close at the other end when she wrong-footed her marker to get a shot in from close range but the keeper saved well with her feet. In the 43rd minute, Kendal took the lead when Abbie, under pressure from a Kendal forward, spilled a seemingly innocuous ball from the left and their striker nipped in for a simple tap-in. Their lead was short-lived though as straight from the kick-off, Faye went on a mazey run, skipping past a number of despairing lunges to hit a stinging shot from 25 yards that the Kendal keeper was unable to hold on to and Claire was on hand to rifle the ball home from 6 yards. 1-1 at half time.
The 2nd half continued in the same vein although the game was starting to open out. Claire was unlucky when she stretched to get on to the end of a cross but she could only help the ball over the bar. In the 64th minute, Katie O broke down the left and crossed into the Kendal area. A Kendal defender flicked out her boot to intercept but only succeeded in deflecting the ball over the Keeper's head and into the net to put Newlaithes into the lead. Kendal stepped up a gear and started to pressure the Newlaithes defence. The Newlaithes players seemed to descend into panic as time after time they conceded possession. Kendal bombarded the Newlaithes area and Abbie made several good saves to preserve the Newlaithes lead. Newlaithes still threatened on the break and Faye came close at the other end when she dribbled through the Kendal defence only to lose the ball as she was about to pull the trigger. However as the clock ticked away, the pressure was nearly all from Kendal as Newlaithes' marking left a lot to be desired but despite a number of frantic goalmouth scrambles, they were unable to force an equaliser and the match finished 2-1 to Newlaithes.
This was the toughest league game so far this season. We knew it would be a physical encounter and the free-kick count must have been into double figures. In the main, Newlaithes were up to the challenge; the first half was very tight as both sides battled hard but it's fair to say that Kendal were in the ascendency the longer the game went on and the Newlaithes players were relieved to hear the final whistle. Nevertheless it was an excellent 3 points against a very strong Kendal team. Player of the match was a joint award to Sarah C and Abbie.
We now have a fixture break until December due to players attending an FA Level 1 coaching course.
