Kendal Town 2 v 1 Squires Gate

Tuesday 26th September 2023, Kick-off 19.45

North West Counties League Premier Division
Parkside Road, Kendal
Admission: £6.00
Programme: £2.00
Attendance: 211

As I was spending a couple of nights in the glorious Lake District, I certainly planned to take in at least one game during my stay. And although Penrith Town, the closest club to where I was based, were unfortunately playing away this evening, I had plenty of other options to choose from, all very attractive in different ways. Carlisle City's county cup game against Carlisle United was particularly tempting, however in the end I opted for this game, partly because I had already been to a ground in Carlisle (Brunton Park) whereas I had not been to a ground in or around Kendal, and I had heard reports it was a friendly club with an interesting ground. And so after an eight mile walk around Gowbarrow Fell, climbing to the top of Airy Crag, and viewing some rather spectacular waterfalls on the way to Aira Force, I made my mind up to head south to take in this game.

Parkside Road is located to the south west of Kendal town centre, and after the car park filled up very early - partly thanks to some very inconsiderate parking - I had to park on a side road some distance away. A fixture board is located at the entrance of the car park and close to the turnstiles, located in one corner of the ground. There is plenty of character about the ground, with the end closest to the entrance having a quite a large bank of mostly uncovered terrace steps to stand on, with a small section having some covered seating , in front of the clubhouse building. It is quite a climb to reach the clubhouse, but is very pleasant and spacious inside, and decent views of the pitch can be had from inside. A reasonable range of hot and cold drinks and refreshments were available from a window adjacent to the bar, and on a visit to the north, a portion of chips and gravy, for £2.50, was too hard to resist. Along the length closest to the entrance, an old fashioned stand covering standing area runs between the corner flag and half way line, whilst the other side of the half way line is a bank of uncovered terrace steps. Along the opposite length there is a further old fashioned stand covering a couple of rows of seating, while yet another old fashioned stand straddling the half way line contains 6 rows of quite steep wooden top seating. There is just hard standing behind the remaining length. The ground has a pleasant rural and tranquil location, and is pleasantly naturally enclosed. 

Kendal Town had an excellent start to their season, winning their first four league games, and wiining eight of their first nine league games, before losing twice. They bounced back with a 6-1 home win in their last league game, but bowed out of the FA Vase on Saturday with a home defeat. They came into this game in second place in the table, and a win this evening could see them go top. Squires Gate are having a much more difficult time, and they cam into this game second bottom, picking up just two wins and two draws from their opening 15 league games, and lost 0-7 away at leaders Wythenshaw on Saturday.

On a mild and mostly dry evening, except for a brief shower midway through the second half, this game was surprisingly even, particularly during the first half, as the visitors carried their share of a threat to open the scoring, and indeed it was they who had the first two stand out chances around the ten minute mark, first lashing a shot just over the bar, and then a free kick likewise, before later seeing a low free kick parried wide. But the scoreline re!aimed goalless at the break, and Kendal could, despite their moments too, could feel slightly relieved about, as the visitors defied their lowly league position.

However, the second half turned out to be a different story, as Kendal were much more on the front foot. They took the lead on the hour mark, when Jacob Gregory dispossessed a defender before passing the ball to Josh Winder, who drilled it home from the edge of the area. Although Kendal were in the ascendancy by now, the visitors still carried an occasional threat, but on 84 minutes, Kendal were awarded a penalty when Gregory was tripped in the box. Despite slipping as he took it, Rob Wilson struck the ball down the middle to double Kendal's lead. The home side had a great chance to make it three in the second minute of added on time, when a shot was well blocked, but in the eighth minute of added on time, Squires Gate got a consolation goal that they certainly deserved when the ball was played forward for Josh Few to run into, and he eventually slotted the ball past the keeper and into the net.