Remarkable Fight Back [14v13]

Tactical changes, and a typical battling performance, saw Kendal maintain their winning streak, and home record since April 2014, taking the lead for the first time in the final minute of normal time.

Phil Murphy returned in place of James Thompson, whilst Chris Park came in on the wing, with Mark Carruthers moving to the bench.

Kendal had an early opportunity to take the lead. Dini Noyo jumped to gather a Penrith clearance kick, after the Kendal kick off, and he was clumsily tackled whilst still in the air. The long range penalty, however fell short. Penrith then had an opportunity, but their penalty from ten metres inside the Kendal half, also fell short.

Penrith opened the scoring after six minutes, with a penalty from in front of the posts by outside half Matt Allinson, after the referee penalised Kendal for a deliberate knock on, when challenging for the ball at a ruck. 0v3.

Penrith were looking very well organised, and were often able to protect the ball through a number of phases, whilst Kendal players were often isolated without support, when they broke through the Penrith defence. Both sides were conceding a lot of penalties, but their kickers were struggling to find the target, despite having ideal still kicking conditions.

Penrith doubled their lead after twenty five minutes. with a second Allinson penalty. 0v6.

Kendal stepped up a gear, when Penrith players failed to deal with a kick through near halfway, Kendal were able to regain the ball, and Josh Chaplow made a break through the centre, but when stopped lost the ball, only for the Penrith clearance kick to be charged down, but the rebound fell kindly for Penrith, although they were forced to concede a five metre scrum.

The Kendal forwards then kept the ball through a number of phases, but could not make any impacted on the Penrith defence. When Kendal finally got the ball across the line, the referee signalled that Penrith had prevented it being grounded.

At the resulting scrum, the Penrith scrum half was around too quickly, allowing Kendal a long period of advantage, but they were still not able to break through. The penalty kick was put to touch, but the ball was lost at the lineout, when there was an overthrow, however Penrith were kept penned in their twenty two, and there was another charged down kick, but again the ball ricocheted kindly for Penrith, to one of their own players.

With five minutes of the half to play Jack Lashley, came on for Ben Leacock, but Leacock was back almost immediately, as Chris Downham was forced off.

Kendal again lost their own lineout ball, and when Penrith attacked, Kendal offended, but had a lucky escape as the easy kick was missed.

The relief however was short lived. Kendal failed to deal with a Penrith kick down the left, and a Penrith player managed to gather the ball, and although stopped, reached over to score. The difficult conversion was put over 0v13.

Kendal immediately made a further change. Ben Leacock was brought off again, and replaced by centre Damian Armstrong, with Zane Butler moving on to the wing, Dini Noyo to scrum half, with James Gough joining the back row.

With a thirteen point deficit, and Penrith on top, it looked a long way back for Kendal at halftime. The change in personnel however also saw a change of tactics, with Dini Noyo moving the ball fast from the breakdown, getting it away from the well organised Penrith pack, and giving Glenn Weightman more space to work with, to get his back division moving.

It looked as if Zane Butler had the opening Kendal score, as he burst through the centre, but the referee had adjudged a decoy run from Danny Barker, to have obstructed the defence.

Finally after twenty minutes of play, Kendal had their first score. Having turned down the option of a kick at goal, the ball was put to touch, and having secured the lineout ball, the forwards took the ball to the line, a number of forwards tried to barge over, with finally stand-in flanker James Gough, finding the gap to dive over. Chris Park added the conversion. 7v13.

Kendal continued to attack, but could find no way through the Penrith defence. Josh Chaplow made several good breaks, as the Penrith forwards started to tire, with Kendal moving the ball at speed. Penrith were also starting to give away a string of penalties, as they tried to slow the Kendal ball down at the breakdown.

Kendal had chosen to go for the posts, when offered another penalty, but the ball drifted wide.

With five minutes of normal time to play, the referee issued a team warning to Penrith. Once the Penrith players had conferred, Glenn Weightman put the kick to touch. Kendal secured the lineout ball, and drove to the line, but whilst already playing advantage for a Penrith player illegally coming in from the side of the maul, despite the earlier warning, the same player deliberately collapsed the maul, giving the referee little option other than to issue him with a yellow card.

The ball was again put to touch, and the forwards drove to the line, using their man advantage. When they crossed the line, Liam Hayton touched down. Kendal still trailed by a point, and Chris Park, who had not had the best afternoon with kicks at goal, was left with a difficult kick to take the lead. As so often when the pressure is on, the kick was perfectly judged, and sailed between the posts, to give Kendal the lead for the first time, as the game entered injury time. 14v13

There was still time for Penrith to come back, but when they tried to run a Kendal kick out of defence back, the Kendal defence forced an error. From the resulting scrum, Dini Noyo made a break down the right, and then fed Chris Park. When the defence closed in, Park chipped the ball through, and whilst the Penrith defence got back first, as a flanker tried to run the ball back, he was caught by Dini Noyo, and forced to touchdown to give Kendal a scrum on the Penrith line. The Kendal pack secured the ball, and when it came back to Glenn Weightman, he put the ball dead to secure a remarkable victory.

There were too many errors from both sides for this to be a classic game, but a really tough battle between two good teams, with Penrith dominating the first half, before Kendal took control in the second, with both defences holding firm, to keep the score down.

Despite the victory, results elsewhere see Kendal dropped from the top to third, on points difference behind Warrington and Kirkby Lonsdale.

Next week sees a visit to Broughton Park, where Kendal have lost in both of the last two seasons. Park are struggling this season, but it will be key to maintain concentration, to avoid a banana skin.

KENDAL MAN OF THE MATCH : Josh Chaplow