A serious goalmouth incident caused controversy in the final few minutes of Kendal Men's game at Bowdon in North West Division Five (North).

A hard shot from Kendal was deflected airborne towards another of their players who hooked the ball at goal. It struck a home defender squarely in the side of the head causing debate as to whether a penalty flick should have been awarded.

The incident, from which the player recovered, was the tensest moment in a tightly fought draw that Kendal dominated.

A bitty first half and periods of pressure from the home team could not mask the quality of passing and movement Kendal regularly produced.

Kendal took the lead in the first half when Ewan Galloway was the sharpest man near the goal, shortly after Adam Young's shot came back off a post.

Some poor team organisation from Kendal meant their defence could not clear the ball easily and Bowdon eventually levelled.

The second half brought more quality hockey from Kendal, with John Elleray conspicuous in his defensive dedication, adding the red of his blood to the green and white team colours.

Bowdon are pushing for promotion in this league, so Kendal took deserved pride in a 1-1 draw they should have edged.

Paley brightens 'Mere's day...

WINDERMERE Men ended a spell of anonymous mid-season form with a welcome 3-0 away win over Mossley Hill 3rds in NW Div 10 on Saturday.

After surviving an early scare - that forced goalkeeper Dominic Quill to race off his line and make a lively save - Windermere settled to their task, dominating both possession and territory.

Jonathan Randall-Paley bagged all three goals, two from short corners and one in open play, and the score could easily have more.

Mossley Hill packed their D with players in an effort to keep Windermere at bay, but Matt Fox and Sam Crompton still caused the Merseysiders plenty of problems from wide positions.

Windermere had a goal disallowed when the ball was adjudged to have just missed the top of the backboard at a short corner and Mossley hit a post, but Windermere were rarely seriously troubled and cruised to a morale-building away victory.