A PENALTY goal in the last minute gave Cumbria League leaders Windermere the win in a cliff-hanging finish at Dawes Meadow.

Final score was Windermere24, Upper Eden 23.

In a way it was a cruel end for an Upper Eden side which had given Windermere their hardest match of the season and had often looked the more likely winners.

Their tough, hard-working pack had more than matched Windermere in the tight and looked threatening through-out as they drove the ball round the fringes.

Due to the tight marking and hard tackling, neither side had many opportunities to spread the ball wide although both did their best.

For all that, the see-saw nature of the scoring and the importance of this result to both teams meant that the excitement was sustained to the end.

Windermere, for long without a consistently reliable kicker, have at last discovered one in flanker Chris Sansom and with Upper Eden giving away penalties through over-eagerness to deny Windermere the ball, this finally decided the outcome.

Windermere faced a strong, blustery wind in the second half and kicking at goal proved difficult.

Twice Sansom was on target only for the ball to be held up, his second effort bouncing back from the crossbar.

Upper Eden conceded one penalty too many by killing the ball, however, and taking advantage of a brief lull in the wind, Sansom lined up from 45 yards and over went the kick to give Windermere the win.

The opening exchanges were evenly fought.

Sansom gave Windermere the lead with a penalty after 14 minutes.

Two minutes later Nick Heron replied with a penalty for the visitors.

The teams attacked in turn but then Windermere were penalised at a scrum and Heron landed his second penalty only for Sansom to level the scores again with a penalty.

Then after 32 minutes the visitors scored the first try of the match, Johnny Whitehead breaking two tackles to touch down under the posts, leaving Heron a simple conversion.

This lead proved shortlived for Windermere wing Matthew Nield kicked through and made the most of a favourable bounce to score near the corner.

Sansom could not convert in the wind but almost immediately kicked his third penalty to give Windermere a 14-11 half-time lead.

In a confident start to the second half, Upper Eden's Heron intercepted a careless pass to race 50 yards for the try.

The respective goalkickers were dominating the scoring and next it was Sansom who broke through for Windermere's second try.

Which he converted himself.

Into the final five minutes and with Phil Hughes forcing his way over for a try, converted by Heron, Upper Eden seemed to have the victory.

But it was not to be.

Upper Eden killed the ball as Windermere attacked and Sansom stepped forward and made them pay the full price.