KENDAL Town Reserves faced a difficult away trip to Keswick last Saturday and to make matters worse only the bare 11 players travelled due to injuries and other commitments.

On a difficult pitch due to the recent flooding, both teams found it difficult to find a rhythm but Keswick broke the deadlock on 20 minutes.

A Town player made a hash of a simple clearance on the edge of his 18-yard line, and a Keswick forward pounced on the chance to place the ball past the on-coming Town keeper.

This setback kick-started the Kendal side and they were rewarded 10 minutes from half time when a sweeping move down the right wing ended with a sweet cross to the near post, where Kevin Pickering headed into the bottom corner.

In the second half Town put Keswick under pressure and on 65 minutes Stephen Ellwood was brought down in the box for a clear-cut penalty.

Dan Newby made no mistake from the spot kick to give his side a 2-1 head and Kendal added a third in the 75th minute, Picking bagging his second to seal the 3-1 victory..

Kendal manager Andy Major said: "Keswick is always a hard place to go to, but the team played very well on the day and we deserved the win.

"It was a good hard working team performance one of the best this season so far.

Busy midfielder Lee Blamire grabbed his first-ever four-timer for Kendal County as the leaders beat Penrith Rangers 7-0, but the performance was not as flattering as the scorline suggests.

County received an early wake-up call when a Rangers forwards got through to a one-on-one with County keeper Adam Hornby, who made a fine save.

Alerted by that scare, County went ahead when Craig Walmsley was put straight through the middle and tucked his shot into the bottom corner.

Blamire then scored twice before half time, making the most of runs to arrive late in the penalty box and apply some effective finishing.

But Rangers were not a spent force and Hornby was called upon to make another good stop before the break and they just failed to convert another half-chance.

Despite a 3-0 half-time lead County could not afford to let up and were urged to re-focus on basic pass-and-go football rather than trying to play glory balls down dead-end channels.

Rangers were kept more at a distance after the break, while Blamire's work ethic and enthusiasm again paid off when he connected with Walmsley's squared pass to knock County's fourth into an open goal for his hat-trick.

Walmsley was on the mark again when he raised a leg to hook a bobbling ball in off the underside of the bar before Blamire made it 6-0 with a flick header, rushing in unmarked as the far-post from a set-piece.

Walmsley then delivered another well-weighted ball for midfielder Ryan Wallace to cut inside and finish into another empty net.

At 7-0 County were content with the helpful boost to their goal difference, but their defence was not as watertight as in recent display and they know a better team would have punished them.

Ibis got the better of a tussle at Staveley United after both teams returned from long lay-off in what turned out to be a 5-2 victory for the visiting side.

An unrolled pitch made close control difficult, particularly in midfield, but Ibis bossed the show for the first half-hour and went 3-0 up before half time with goals from Chris Ellwood, Stephen Knowles, who hit a blistering 25-yard volley into the top corner, and Stuart Gilpin.

Staveley pulled a goal back before the break and pushed on to get back in the contest after the interval, but vitally Ibis scored again for a 4-1 lead and although the home team got a second thanks to a penalty, a fifth goal killed them off, Knowles and Gary Taylor supplying the second-half efforts.

Ryan Ormrod at 16 impressed up front.

It was like a scene from Blackpool beach for Appleby FC's home match against Coniston.

Tons of sand washed up from the river due the recent flooding were piled up by the side of the pitch, which had been cleared of debris but was made considerably narrower to enable the match to go ahead.

Appleby keeper Paul Crawford played a big part in Appleby's 1-0 win and pulled off two point-blank saves in a scoreless first half.

Ben Greenhow got in behind the defence for the home team's best chance before the break, but powered his shot wide.

Midfielder Ian Parkin had been a thorn in Coniston's side with his fine approach work and he scored the winner.

His header came back off a defender but he made no mistake with a second attempt, poking the ball in from close range.

Keeper Crawford came to Appleby's rescue when he saved a penalty in the last few minutes to seal the win.

Results round-up: Division One: Appleby 1, Coniston 0; Keswick 1, Kendal Town Reserves 3; Penrith Rangers 0, Kendal County 7; Staveley United 2, Ibis 5; Wetheriggs United 5, Ambleside United 1.

Division Two: Burneside 2, Kirkoswald 1; Kendal County Reserves 4, Wetheriggs United Res 5; Ullswater United 5, Kendal Celtic 1; Windermere SC Reserves 2, Endmoor KGR 1.

Division Three: Greystoke Reserves 3, Grasmere 1; Shap 3, Burneside Reserves 1.

Peter Daws Memorial Shield - second roound: Ambleside United Reserves 3, Sedbergh Wanderers Reserves 8; Carleton Rovers Reserves 3, Braithwaite 2; Ibis Reserves 4, Appleby Reserves 4 (Appleby won 5-4 on penalties); Northbank Carlisle Reserves 4, Carvetii United 0.

Division Four: Carvetii United Reserves 0, Penrith United 0; Coniston Reserves 1, Shap Reserves 1; Endmoor KGR Reserves 0, Staveley United Reserves 1; Kendal Celtic Reserves 3, Wetheriggs United A 4; Lunesdale United Reserves 1, Burneside Academy 1.

Austin Wren Cup, second round: Windermere SC A 1, Coniston Reserves 1; Shap Reserves 5, Dent Reserves 0.