20/09/2026
A winning start on the road!
Kendal got their season underway away to Leyland & Chorley 1s, arriving with a strong squad and a clear game plan.
Kendal started brightly, with plenty of energy and running in the forward line causing problems for the Leyland defence. That pressure soon paid off.
Simon Millington spotted Ayrton Boyd dragging his defender out of position and immediately saw the space in behind, throwing an aerial into Boyd’s path. Boyd raced into the D before slipping the ball across to Steven Oliver, who made no mistake, powering a low shot underneath the keeper.
1–0 Kendal
Kendal continued to press straight from the restart and were rewarded with a second goal soon after. Rob Wise played the ball down the right to John Stanworth, who found Boyd running into space down the line. Boyd then picked out Ollie Darbyshire arriving at the back post, with Darbyshire making no mistake to double Kendal’s advantage.
2–0 Kendal
The second goal sparked a response from Leyland, who began to grow into the game and put pressure on the Kendal back line. Rob Cartwright was called into action and produced a string of excellent saves to keep the opposition at bay, but eventually Leyland found a way through.
2–1
With their confidence growing, Leyland continued to push forward in search of an equaliser before half time, and they eventually found it.
Half time: 2–2
At the break, Kendal regrouped and discussed what needed to change in the second half. The response was excellent.
The midfield and defence worked tirelessly to restrict Leyland to very few chances, and when they did break through, Chris Woodman, Jamie Hooper, Andy Melville, Simon Millington and Rob Wise dealt with the danger.
In front of them, Finlay Robinson, Isaac moorby, John Stanworth, Steven Oliver and the returning Paddy Morris-Eyton put in a huge amount of running, controlling the middle of the pitch and providing the platform for Kendal to launch their attacks.
The improved performance eventually brought its reward.
Captain Jack Kerr played the ball out to the right, finding Jake Sharman, who drove towards the byline before pulling the ball back to the penalty spot. Boyd was there to meet it, flicking the ball into the back of the net.
3–2 Kendal
As the game entered its final stages, it became increasingly end-to-end with more space opening up across the pitch. Kendal exploited that space brilliantly for the fourth.
The ball was worked out from the back and into the left-hand side, before being played to Sharman just inside the Kendal half. Sharman drove forward and found himself one-on-one with the keeper.
Keeping his composure, Sharman rounded the goalkeeper, but with his angle to goal narrowing, he opted to reverse-stick the ball across the face of goal towards the back post.
Arriving at exactly the right moment was Boyd, who made sure the ball crossed the line to complete a fantastic individual performance.
Full time: Leyland & Chorley 2–4 Kendal
A brilliant way to start the season, with Kendal showing plenty of attacking quality, resilience and hard work
⭐ Player of the Match: Ayrton Boyd
⚽ 2 goals
🅰️ 2 assists
A fantastic all-round performance from Boyd, but a huge team effort from everyone involved to get the season off to a winning start.
**What a way to begin! **
