KIRKBY Stephen Seconds werre at Penrith on a miserable, sleety day and suffered an uncharacteristic 5-1 defeat in the Cumbria League.

Kirkby's team was yet again dominated by youth, with players from their U15 and U16s squads stepping up.

Penrith caught the visitors off guard and went 3-0 up after only 15 minutes.

Kirkby refused to give up and defenders Emma Lightburn, Linda Johnstone and Gillian Bland gave Penrith a run for their money while midfielders Lisa Shaw, Becky Richardson and Charlotte Pearson worked hard to feed balls through to Sophie Metcalfe and Steph Law, who made excellent runs.

But on the heavy, sandy pitch the ball was not moving at a pace Kirkby were used to and it allowed experienced Penrith team to make many interceptions.

Substitutes Emma Maughan and Bev Prime created space and vision down the right wing, but on a fortunate breakaway Penrith scored again for a 4-0 half-time advantage.

In the second half, Kirkby showed fighting spirit, with goalkeeper Bryony Bland making some superb runs out to intercept the attack.

Kim Balmer and Litini Newcombe worked hard in centre midfield and breaking through Penrith's defence, finally managed to create a goal, finished by Becky Richardson. Although the strength of the Penrith team were too much for Kirkby s youngsters, captain Newcombe complimented her team on their fight and commitment, and with a second half score of 1-1, she asked her team to walk away with their heads held high.