Nine-man Kendal Town draw 2-2 against Mossley

The match, which took place at Parkside Road on Tuesday Night, was a badly tempered contest.

Kendal had a first half to forget after Michael Samson was sent off,.

The visitors also went 2-0 up in the opening 45 minutes after goals from Anthony Brown and Dylan Fitzgerald.

In the second half the game exploded into life when Hugo Rodriguez scored.

Following this, a brawl between both teams saw referee Ian Gittens send-off Jamie Hodgson .

Mossley were also reduced to ten men after Fitzgerald was also brandished a red card.

However Kendal completed the dramatic comeback when a long ball by Morgan Bacon was headed into the net by Rodriguez as Kendal celebrated an unlikely point.

Kendal going into the game were keen to bounce back from their 3-2 home defeat against Runcorn Linnets .

However, prior to the game the team received a huge boost after former Preston North End manager Simon Grayson deputised for Chris Humphrey .

Grayson, who last managed League One side Blackpool stepped into the Kendal dugout after Humphrey was forced to self-isolate after being in contact with one of his work colleagues.

Mossley who themselves had just returned from a two-game isolation period made the better start to the game.

After 15 minutes in the first half, the away side went 1-0 up.

Anthony Brown headed the ball into the Kendal net following a delivery into the penalty area.

And things became even worse for The Mintcakes after Michael Samson was sent off by the referee, Ian Gittens.

Samson was sent off after he brought down one of the Mossley players who was adjudged to have been the last man.

Mossley capitalised on the one-man advantage and were 2-0 up moments later.

Dylan Fitzgerald calmly chipped the ball over Morgan Bacon in the Kendal goal, before Anthony Brown headed the ball into the grasps of The Mintcakes keeper.

Kendal’s only real opportunities fell to Charlie Birch.

Birch had a free kick, which was saved by Mossley shot stopper Liam Lovell, before Charlie Barnes fired the ball wide from a corner.

However the second half was much improved for Chris Humphrey’s team.

The home side played with more energy and began to force Mossley back while launching tempting deliveries into the penalty area.

Early free-kicks from Charlie Birch and Jamie Hodgson forced the Mossley goalkeeper Lovell into action.

Emil Jaaskelainen also threatened the Mossley goal, but fired his shot wide from another free kick.

Mossley then continued to be dangerous on the counter attack towards Kendal’s net, as they searched for another goal.

However, Kendal broke up the visitors’ attacks with Morgan Bacon making some comfortable saves.

Kendal found a way back into the game on 70 minutes, much to the delight of stand-in manager Grayson.

A seemingly harmless cross into the area by Birch was fumbled by Lovell into the path of Hugo Rodriguez who scored from close range for the home side.

Kendal, buoyed by the goal scored by Rodriguez, then pushed for the game’s equaliser.

The game then quickly became bad-tempered with two confrontations between players from both sets of teams.

The second of the two confrontations resulted in referee Gittens sending off both Kendal’s Jamie Hodgson and Mossley’s Dylan Fitzgerald.

However, two minutes after the melee Kendal equalised in dramatic fashion.

In the 89th minute goalkeeper Morgan Bacon, from his own area, launched a long ball into the Mossley penalty area which was headed into the net by Rodriguez.

Rodriguez’s goal led to wild celebrations amongst the supporters at Parkside Road.

Mossley still with the one-man advantage attempted to go for the win deep into stoppage time.

However, Kendal held out to celebrate a huge point further showing the teams fighting spirit.

The result places The Mintcakes in ninth position in the Northern Premier League North/West Division, nine points behind league leaders Workington.