BAD news keeps coming on and off the pitch and the latest grim bulletin before kick-off concerned both props.

Richard Harryman had broken a bone in a hand at work, while front-row partner Billy Coxon was suffering a recurrence of his irregular heart rhythm and this was likely to be his last match this season.

Dan Bowman played at No. 8 for the unavailable Adrian Bateson despite a leg injury, and second-rows Dave Preston and Andy Hudson were only having tentative run-outs with the Seconds.

Yet Macclesfield appeared to be doing their bit to encourage Kendal when botching three easy penalty attempts in the opening 10 minutes before changing their kicker.

Well-drilled and purposeful, the visitors clung to the ball with a miserly grip and scored the first of their six tries in the 12th minute when Dennis Bibby was penalised for tossing the ball into touch after racing back to cover a chip through over the tryline.

From the a catch nand drive at the lineout, Macclesfield mauled their way to the tryline from the penalty lineout. Although the ball spilled out untidily to the ground, scrum-half Joe Walker touched it down, though the referee appeared to miss a knock-on as his did so.

Fortunate to be trailing only 5-0, Kendal's venture to the opposition 22 earned a penalty for handling in the ruck and scrum-half Andrew Boardley slotted over a 26-metre kick.

Sadly it proved to be Kendal's only score of the match. They kicked away ball straight back down the visitors' throats and Macclesfield went further ahead after 22 minutes after wheeling a scrum close to the home 22.

Hooker Peter Allen opted to go blind and sent away left winger Joe Knowles, who jinked past Jason Balmer and offloaded in the tackle for flanker Ollie Hewitt to finish off the try, which Knowles converted.

Macclesfield then tightened their grip 10 minutes later when from a quick tap penalty they mauled their way over , flanker Tom Street claiming the score and Knowles converting for a 19-3 lead.

Most lamentably, Kendal's attempts to use their threequarter line had a staleness and predictability that was wince-inducing, alhough full back Simon Mulholland showed undimmed enthus-iasm as he ran long kicks back even if without support to maintain the momentum.

It still did not look an enitirely lost cause for Kendal at the start of the second half as they retained the ball better, with replacement scrum-half James Gough looking lively and creative.

Mike Capstick also came off the bench to add his energy and experience to a pack struggling to cope. Even so, Kendal were forced into some desperate defending and twice held up Macclesfield over their own tryline.

Kendal's best passage of play came on the hour when Mulholland linked with Gough, whose neat reverse-pass put Jason Balmer away in midfield. Although he was held, Kendal recycled the ball right, only for the centres to get their wires crossed as Armstrong's potential try-scoring pass flew into touch with Ryan Dobie having cut back inside.

Four minutes later, a slip by the Macclesfield full back as he went for a stray ball allowed Jimmy Thompson to hack on, but he gathered the ball up instead kicking on again and Macclesfield were able to regroup in defence.

Macclesfield took heart from these misadventures with con-certed pressure to set up three second-half tries, starting in the 65th minute when robbed lineout ball allowed their pacy backs room to capitalise.

Although Mulholland stopped winger Boothroyd head on with a crunching tackle, quick ball left created the overlap for full back Ben Coulbeck to dive over at the corner and the conversion made it 26-3.

With their pack rampant, the visitors almost pushed Kendal off a scrum in the home 22, forcing Gough to ground the ball over his own line and Macclesfield replace-ment Nick Pearson was rumbled over from the maul after the five-metre scrum.

Moving into stoppage time Kendal shipped 40 points for the seventh time in the league this season when Boothroyd forced his way under the posts despite Armstrong's last-ditch tackle and the conversion went over.

All in all, a dispiriting afternoon for the Black and Ambers who looked short on ideas and running on empty as far as confidence was concerned.