TWO-nil up midway through the first half, Kendal looked odds-on favourites to run away with this UniBond League First Division match against lowly Belper on Saturday, but two setpiece goals let the visitors back in and the game could have gone either way afterwards.

At the outset it looked as if it would be plain sailing for Town and they mounted several promising attacks before their seventh-minute opening goal.

Right-winger Peter Smith did well to control a long crossfield ball before slipping it to Ian Kilford, whose cross was glanced just inside the far post by David Foster.

As Town continued to dominate Kilford supplied a second goal on 23 minutes. Collecting the ball in centre field some 25 yards out he laid off a neat square pass which put Peter Smith in space and he drove the ball into the right-hand corner of the net.

Six minutes later the sound foundations began to crumble. Town centre-back Nigel Taylor hacked down Mark Highfield 30 yards out and from the free-kick Belper left-back Joe Carter unleashed a bullet-like drive into the top right corner.

Kenny Mayers fluffed a golden opportunity to restore the two-goal advantage when he stumbled on the ball after receiving a defence-splitting pass from Ged Smith.

Growing increasingly confident, Belper went close with Highfield heading just wide and Salisbury forced to scramble to contain another Carter thunderbolt free-kick at the second attempt.

Fourteen minutes into the second half Taylor committed another foul on the edge of the box. Carter again blasted in the free-kick and although Salis-bury made a fine initial diving save, the rebound fell to Kelvin Mushambi, who raced in unmarked to net the equaliser.

Although Kendal looked the slicker side they missed top scorer Lee Ashcroft (susp-ended for one match) and it was Salisbury who was the busier of the two keepers over the final half-hour.

How they rated: Salisbury 6; Sparrow 7, Whittal-Williams 7, Taylor 6, Rigby 7; G. Smith 7; McKenna 6, Kilford 6, P. Smith 8; Foster 7, Mayers 5 (Ward 6 from 70 minutes).