Kendal Town are through to the preliminary round of the FA Cup after a fine 2-1 win in their reply last night at Guisborough Town.
It was the third game in a row in which the two sides had squared up and Kendal have come through the trilogy with two wins and a draw.
This extra-preliminary round tie looked as if it was to stretch into an even longer marathon duel between the two Northern League sides as there was nothing much between them throughout.
But in the 68th minute Brandon Croskell-Robinson supplied the finish after Guisborough keeper Rob Dean had only been able to parry a shot from Jordan Palmer. Croskell-Robinson reacted best to fire the ball home.
Kendal had to survive some strong pressure after that goal with Chris Cheetham making a couple of important saves and the hosts missing two great opportunities at the far post.
Guisborough had been given a flying start with a goal on four minutes from the penalty spot after a clear foul in the box. Jason Blackburn’s spot kick went in off the post.
The equaliser came in time added on at the end of the half and was rather fortuitous as a Ryan Winder corner went in off a home defender. But, as the old saying goes – they all count.
Manager Jimmy Marshall said: “I’m proud of the lads for the way we played, particularly in the second-half because we weren’t really at the races in the first half and I had to have stern words with them at half-time.
“We’ve got a home draw now in the next round against Newcastle Benfield, which will be tough, but it would be nice to get a run in the FA Cup.”
You can hear what chairman Michael O’Neill thought below:
