Kendal Town put up a gritty performance against glamour club Bury AFC before going down 2-0 at Parkside Road.
They had to play from just before half-time with ten men after Shaun Sailor was shown a straight red for a dangerous tackle.
The bonus for Kendal was a season’s best crowd of 395, boosted by the travelling contingent from Bury.
The Mintcakes had a dreadful start when they conceded in the second minute when new keeper Danny Roccia made a mess of dealing with a ball headed forward and Ben Wharton was left with a simple finish.
It was pretty frantic after that with the pace of Steve Yawson causing problems for Bury and the visitors asking questions of the home defence.
Overall it was fairly even with Kendal still very much in it until the 44th minute when Sailor put in a strong challenge from behind and the referee saw fit to send him off.
The crucial second goal came on 65 minutes when substitute Connor Comber produced a fine finish, to illustrate the regard he’s held in at the club.
He beat three men as he cut in for goal and unleashed a great shot which Roccia couldn’t get near.
But Kendal battled hard to get back into the contest and Bury keeper Jack Atkinson had to make two good saves to deny Rob Wilson and Jamie Pattinson.
