ANOTHER assured performance delighted the biggest crowd at Parkside this season as Kendal moved to within a point of the league leaders on Tuesday evening.

Final score was Kendal Town 2 - Guiseley Town 1.

Craig Walmsley scored and made another for Lee Blamire in a first half which saw Town produce telling passages of quality passing to add to the gritty defending and fast breaking attacks which have brought five wins from their first seven outings in the UniBond First Division.

Kendal had an early appeal for a penalty rightly turned down by referee Mr Brumwell.

A shot by Hayton struck a defender's hand, but a penalty would have been a harsh award against the visitors.

Close capped a fine run down the right wing with a fine cross, which was headed high in the air by a defender.

It could then have dropped anywhere, but was scrambled away from a ruck of players.

Guiseley provided far better opposition than Trafford at the weekend and the half produced attractive football and the visitors had a couple of off-target shots.

They were generally denied any serious goal attempts, however, by the strong back four of Lee Pennington, Richard Close, Phil Hodgson and Lee Bowen.

On 22 minutes Guiseley left-back Peter Atkinson made a mess of attempting to chest down a loose ball and it rolled away to set Walmsley up in a one-on-one with keeper James Shutt.

He doesn't spurn opportunities like that, but took his time in teeing up his shot then steering it carefully round Shutt for a classy goal.

Two minutes later Lee Blamire latched on to a James Shepherd cross, but his goalbound shot ricocheted clear from a defenders foot.

With Kendal in almost total charge three more half chances were scrambled clear and Walmsley played a neat through ball for Ian Simpson.

The striker's shot brought a fine diving save from Shutt.

In the 42nd minute came the move of the match when a long lobbed cross from Shepherd was brilliantly headed back across the goal and down by Walmsley for Blamire to volley Kendal's second goal.

Early in the second half Simpson saw his dipping shot go just over the bar and in the 60th minute Walmsley broke clear and slammed the ball into the net, but was ruled offside.

Then almost imperceptibly Town began to let their control slip, particularly after Hodgson, so influential in the air in the centre of the defence, limped off in the 75th minute.

As Guiseley pressed forward it called for some well-timed challenges which were made until the 87th minute when Richard Close was yellow carded for a mistimed sliding tackle in the area.

Mark Stewart sent Lee Ward the wrong way and netted the penalty for the visitors, but it was too little, too late and player-manager Peter Smith, who had come on to replace Simpson, led by example in a fine display of running down the clock as Town saw out the remaining minutes.