Hednesford returned to winning ways by avenging Kendal's 3-1 win at Keys Park earlier in the season by reversing the scoreline this afternoon at the Lakeland Radio Stadium

 

Manager Phil Starbuck decided on a reshuffle after two successive defeats and included fan favourite Anthony Maguire after the utility man had returned to the club in midweek for a third spell - he replaced the injured Chris Adam. Mario Pedro also came back into contention, with loanee Sébastian Arnolin, man of the match in the previous two games, surprisingly left on the bench. Gordon Simms was also recalled at the expense of Daniel Wells in the centre of defence

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Kendal's season had been one of struggle so far, despite their confident win over the Pitmen at Keys Park in September. The Mintcakes sat down in seventeenth place in the table after a 1-1 draw at Stamford last weekend which had extended their winless league run to five games in all competitions, including an F.A, Trophy exit to step four Chorley. Manager Lee Ashcroft made one change to his side for today's home game as Andy Leigh came in for Rob Henry at full-back

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On an overcast afternoon in Cumbria, the in-form Ross Dyer was the first player to register a shot at goal in the third minute, picking up a deflected Wayne Dyer header but shooting way off-target from twenty yards out

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On-loan striker Chris Hanna making a mess of a great chance to give the Pitmen the lead in the seventh minute as he was played into the Kendal penalty area by Pedro's clever ball and opted to shoot from wide from an angle, rather than chip the ball to the far post where Maguire was standing unmarked

 

The hosts were struggling to get into the game early on proceedings, with only a wayward shot from Ian Kilford to show for their efforts in the first ten minutes

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Chad Sheppard came closest to scoring in the tenth minute when his rising shot just cleared the bar after Maguire had teed him up on the edge of the Kendal penalty area

 

 A Callum Warburton free-kick for Kendal caused chaos in the Hednesford penalty area on fifteen minutes, requiring Paul Robinson to hastily clear the ball for a corner as the Kendal forwards closed in on the loose ball

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A long kick forwards from Rene Gilmartin two minutes later saw his kick brought down by Hanna, who in turn played Maguire into space down the left. The returning midfielder opted to try and pick Ross Dyer out but horribly sliced his cross straight out of play

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Robinson was involved at the other end of the pitch two minutes later as a Pedro corner kick dropped onto the head of the centre-back, whose header was hacked off the line by Kendal's Jon Forbes

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Kendal could have nicked the opener against the run of play on twenty minutes courtesy of a mistake from Simms, whose slip allowed Gareth Arnison a run on goal. Rene Gilmartin spotted the danger early on and did well to put Arnison off by making himself big and blocking the striker's shot with his feet

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 Ross Dyer was once again involved in all of the Pitmen's most threatening moves, getting on the end of a Wayne Dyer header across goal on twenty-seven minutes but saw shot saved by David Newnes in the Kendal goal

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Neil Brisco - due to start a three-match ban next week after his straight red card at Witton Albion - made a fine block tackle to deny Arnison on thirty-three minutes as the striker skipped past to half-hearted challenges before being stopped at the crucial moment by the former Port Vale man

 

The Pitmen finally got their noses in front on thirty-seven minutes, as Dyer made an assertive forward run and ball found Hanna, who cleverly dummied the ball and allowed the ball to roll to Pedro, leaving the Portuguese to fire home inside the near post with a confident finish

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The homes side's lack of discipline came to the fore as half-time approached with Kilford shown a yellow card on forty minutes for a crude tackle on Wayne Dyer in midfield

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Two minutes later, Newnes could count himself lucky to stay on the pitch as raced out of goal to meet Dyer after the striker had nipped in behind the Kendal defence. The stopper appeared to take Dyer out just outside the Kendal penalty area, with the travelling Hednesford supporters demanding that Newnes was shown a red card. However, the keeper only received a caution from the referee as there was a covering defender in attendance

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The Pitmen took full advantage from the resultant Maguire free-kick as the 2004 F.A. Trophy hero whipped in a cross that dropped to Pedro - lurking at the back post - who bundled the ball in from close range to double their lead

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The Pitmen's joy was soured somewhat, however, with the award of a Kendal penalty just before half-time. Maguire brought down lively teenager Zak Clark in the Hednesford penalty area, allowing Michael Cole to send Gilmartin the wrong way from the spot and reduce the deficit at half time

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Kicking down the significant slope, Kendal started the second half brightly as they put the Pitmen under severe pressure with a succession of corners and free kicks. Kilford's cross on fifty minutes was headed downwards by Dene Whital-Williams, only for Simms to hack the ball away from the foot of Craig Hobson

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Warburton's corner kick two minutes later was headed up into the air by Robinson and caused Gilmartin issues as he tussled with Arnison for the ball, with the Walsall loanee stopper just getting enough on the ball to divert it away from danger

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Leigh was the latest player to find his name taken by the referee on fifty-six minutes for a blatant high tackle on Maguire to stop him from escaping down the left wing 

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Ross Dyer really should have sealed the win on the hour mark as more intelligent play from Hanna saw him pick his striker partner out with a cross, only for the youngster to divert his shot wide of goal

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Simms was booked a minute later as he rightly had his name taken by the referee after the Northern Irishman had pulled Hobson back just outside the Hednesford penalty area to stop him from reaching Byrne's pass. Simms will now miss the next game after reaching five yellow cards for the season

 

Hanna was denied by Newnes' awareness on sixty-six minutes as he raced out of goal to beat the young striker to a long, searching ball forwards from Adams

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Maguire's lack of match fitness was beginning to tell and Starbuck took the opportunity on sixty-seven minutes to freshen things up with the introduction of Alan Nagington in his place

 

On seventy-three minutes, Hanna fired narrowly over Newnes' crossbar with a rising effort after a great run from deep had taken him past two Kendal challenges in midfield

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Kendal felt that they should have been awarded a penalty kick a minute later as Brisco appeared to fall on the ball and handle it inside the Hednesford penalty area, only for the referee to continue with the game

 

Intelligent play from Nagington with Hednesford's next attack saw him play Hanna in on goal, but his effort was blocked in a timely manner by covering Kendal defender Whital-Williams  

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The Pitmen finally got the third goal that their efforts deserved fourteen minutes from time  as a typically thrusting run from Ross Dyer saw him beat Byrne for pace before placing his shot beyond the reach of Newnes and finding the right-hand corner of the net with another fine finish to add to Dyer's record for the season

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Before the game kicked off, Pedro was taken off by Starbuck and was replaced by the returning Ward after hurting himself in the midst of the celebrating of Dyer's goal

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Ward was straight into the action, turning on a Brisco cross to fire in a shot that was well saved by Newnes on eighty minutes as the Pitmen continued t press for more goals

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The final ten minutes were played out with very little incident, as Kendal struggled to break down a Hednesford defence that had looked a lot more organised and coherent than in recent weeks, with no real dramas during the ninety minutes 

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A late effort from Ward almost added a gloss finish to a fine away performance for the Pitmenon eighty-eight minutes, but his low drilled effort from twenty yards out was well saved by Newnes down to his right-hand side

 

It was a valuable and morale-boosting three points from the Pitmen, who had also produced a good performance to match the result against a disappointing Kendal side that remain in trouble towards the foot of the table. Starbuck's side return to Keys Park next weekend when they play host to fellow mid-table dwellers Lincoln United

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Kendal Town: Newnes ▆, Leigh ▆, Byrne, Forbes, Whital-Williams, Cole, Clarke, Kilford ▆ (Johnson 56), Arnison, Hobson (Wilkes 77), Warburton     Sub Unused: Dyson

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Hednesford Town: Gilmartin, Adams, Robinson, Simms ▆, Brisco, Pedro (Ward 76), Sheppard, Maguire (Nagington 67), W. Dyer ©, R. Dyer, Hanna      Sub Unused: Arnolin

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