Down to eight men before the start, Kendal faced a Herculean task in trying to tame Liverpool University in NW Men's League Division 5 and went down 2-1.

Knuckling down to the job of marking acres of space and being three players short meant even the fitness of the young Kendal midfield was tested.

It was not long before Liverpool went ahead when the ball was not cleared from defence and it was poked in by one of the many white-shirted attackers.

But the Greens did not lose heart, and ran hard to win a short corner, from which Adam Young coolly beat an on-rushing defender to flick the ball past the 'keeper.

All the hard work of Kendal's eight men proved to be not enough when Liverpool regained the lead from a shot that somehow got under 'keeper Rogan Chacko.

And so it remained. Too many opponents and not enough team members left few passing options and Kendal endured long periods without leaving their half.

Liverpool did not add to their scoreline and narrowly took their first win of the season by a single goal over eight tired Green men.

n Table-topping Windermere suffered their first defeat of the season on Saturday when outgunned by Lytham 5th at Troutbeck Bridge.

Windermere did not go down without a fight but, despite drawing level with three goals of their own and creating bags of chances, they were finally pipped by an irrepressible Lytham outfit - the final score being 3-4.

Windermere started brightly and twice went close themselves before an unmarked attacker gleefully took Lytham’s first chance of the game.

Gordon Davidson levelled the score from a short corner but Lytham took the lead again with their best goal of the game and then extended that lead after the break.

Windermere struggled to contain the visitors’ route one style, but captain Dominic Quill forced his side back into the reckoning with a fine shot from the edge of the D and Gordon Davidson brought them level from a short corner.

It was clear that the next goal would be the winner, but to Windermere’s disappoint-ment it was scored by the visitors following yet another frantic chase down the middle.

n Kirkby Stephen were on the receiving end of a 10-0 drubbing by second-placed Brookland MC 4th and are now ninth of 12 in North West Men’s Division 6.