BEATEN by Formby, Kendal left the field believing that they had to accept relegation for the first time in the club's history, but a fascinating twist of fate may have save them by the narrowest of margins.

Over at Preston, Springfields defeated Cheetham Hill 3-2 with the winning goal scored by none other than ex-Kendal striker Steve Perruzza.

This left Kendal and Cheetham Hill on the same points, but with Kendal having a better goal difference.

Unless the North West League relegates three teams, it now looks as though Kendal will remain in Division 5 for next season.

The encounter with Formby was tense as at the start of the day both teams and Cheetham Hill were tied on 22 points, While Kendal had a strong squad of 14 players, Formby had just the bare 11, and the pressure on all players was evident from the start.

Neither team seemed able to settle and the game had little flow and a series of poor passes punctuated the early stages.

There were no more than 10 minutes on the clock when suddenly the lone Formby striker scampered in to the Kendal D, rounded the advancing Chacko and fired in from a narrow angle.

A goal looked certain until Iain Donaldson, racing back to recover, ran in to the ball and knocked it wide. The major contact was with his feet and the umpire awarded a penalty flick. Chacko made a valiant attempt to save the penalty but to no avail.

Kendal regrouped and worked hard but not effectively and rarely had a sniff of goal.

There were moments of brilliant midfield play when Bradshaw, Clarkson and Johns combined, but they could not create enough space in the final 25 metres.

Formby's experienced back line kept Ewan Galloway from getting a clear shot.

The visitors gained a second flick after Matt Clinton got in the way of a goal-bound flick, but the penalty-taker put his shot on to the post.

Kendal won four penalty corners but could not convert any of them, Rob Bradshaw coming closest with a drag-flick.

Formby had as many penalty corners with several shots on target, but Chacko played a solid game in goal while Francis Tidmarsh and Stephen Johns made great clearances from just inside the post.

Windermere 1st 12 - Lytham 3rd 0 ALREADY safe in NW Division Seven, Lytham fielded a weak team on Saturday to complete their fixtures, but newly-crowned champions Windermere were at full strength and, after taking their time to settle, the goals inevitably began to flow.

Mike Hodgson was top scorer with a hat-trick and Gerry de Beer, Mark Hartnett, Steve Heyns and Peter Simm each scored a brace while Jack Boniface also added a goal in what once more amounted to little more than a practice match for the home side.

All Saturday's goals came in open play but many were solo efforts rather than the result of good teamwork.

Tomorrow (Saturday) sees Windermere in friendly action against a combined Lytham team that should stretch them further as they prepare for the Cumbria Cup on April 14 and 15 at Ulverston. Another friendly has also been arranged with Preston before Windermere face both Glaxo and West Cumbria on the opening day of the Cumbria tournament Netherhall Ladies........4 Windermere Ladies.....0 WINDERMERE'S Helen Parsons starred in goal when Windermere went to Cockermouth to meet Cumbria League winners Netherhall.

Parsons stood in as goalkeeper and kept Windermere a clean sheet for the first 25 minutes. Netherhall were awarded eight penalty corners but the Windermere defence kept the ball out until a follow-up from a parried shot gave Netherhall the lead.

Shortly before the break a Windermere defender saved the ball on the line with a foot, but Parsons coolly saved the penalty flick to leave her side only 1-0 behind at half time.

During the second half Windermere defenders Nicola Maloney and Shona Taylor worked relentlessly to get the ball forward, but Netherhall hunted in pairs on the break and scored a second goal.

Another series of penalty corners brought several saves from Parsons, but the home team added two more goals.

Fiona Inglis and Helen Telford worked well in the midfield and Windermere drove forward but could not beat the keeper for a consolation goal and eventually went down 4-0.