KENDAL reinforced their position at the top of Division 5 North with an emphatic win over Liverpool University at the Cinder Ovens pitch on Saturday.

After two straight wins the Greens were in confident mood and played patient possession hockey, creating scoring chances at will.

The writing was on the wall for Liverpool as chances came and went before the deadlock was broken as a Russ Miller penalty corner came to Rob Bradshaw, who made no mistake rifling the ball into the bottom corner.

That goal opened the floodgates as Kendal struck twice more in the next five minutes with a brace of classic centre-forward goals in open play from the ever-alert John Cochrane.

The second half brought more of the same. Kendal's two wingers Jon Elleray and Nick Davis were on their best form and continually tormented the University defence, while Cochrane completed his hat-trick after David Elleray left the Liverpool defence for dead and cracked a cross in to the D.

Elleray was the next on the score sheet with a clever deflection.

With the result settled, Liverpool finally began to find some shape and briefly looked like they might even score, especially when defender John Airey left the field injured.

But the Kendal squad has strength in depth and Airey was replaced by veteran Duncan Rhodes who, despite his lack of pace, proved too wily for the Liverpool strikers.

A superb overall team performance from the Greens was topped off by a final goal from their man of the match Cochrane.