Huddersfield .... 17 Kendal ..... 26

HUDDERSFIELD once again fell victim to their bogey team Kendal, after allowing a 14-point first-half lead to fritter away with a disjointed second half display.

Everything seemed set fair after a solid show in the opening 40 minutes with two converted tries to their name and the visitors offering little in attack.

Huddersfield hooker James Davies had given his side a great start, when on four minutes, he burst through a ruck from close range to score out wide on the right after Kendal had taken the ball in.

Matt Johnson took over the kicking duties, and he duly slotted over the extras.

South African flanker Barry Jacobsz came close to adding a second three minutes later, but was well tackled a couple of yards shy of the tryline, before Johnson pulled an eighth-minute penalty wide from the left touchline.

It all looked so promising, however, as both Chris Johnson and Lee Paxman kept Kendal pinned deep inside their own half with some astute kicking and just after the mid-point of the half Field extended their lead. Chris Johnson banged a long clearance kick downfield to give the home side great field position, and with the forwards driving in powerfully, No8 Nick Sharpe found some space to make the initial break through the first line of defence before off-loading to George Hinchliff who sidestepped the full-back and raced over near the sticks, leaving Johnson with an easy conversion.

Sadly, Huddersfield’s optimism was quickly shaken from the re-start for the second half, when slack tackling down the middle let Kendal through, and when the ball was worked out to the right wing, Zane Butler evaded three would-be tackles to squeeze in at the corner.

Fly-half Dan Stephens missed the conversion attempt but knocked over a penalty a few minutes later when Damien Clayton was sin-binned for a late tackle.

The visitors were now gaining in confidence and they pounded on Huddersfield’s line, which collapsed again when Matt Johnson missed his opposite number Lewis Boyd who then cut inside to score near the posts. Stephens added the conversion and Kendal were in front for the first time at 15-14.

Chris Gough replaced Davies at hooker, while winger Adam Sutcliffe made way for Mark Whitehead, but Huddersfield were now at sixes and sevens, too frequently kicking away possession and gifting the visitors’ quicker backs the chance to run at them.

And it wasn’t long before Kendal extended their lead through prop Richard Harryman who bundled over the line for their third try.

Stephens added a penalty to put the game out of Huddersfield’s reach, although they looked to have salvaged a bonus point when Matt Johnson converted a penalty with three minutes to go.

But with discipline deserting them as well as know-how, Huddersfield conceded another penalty right at the death, and Stephens denied them even a solitary point with his third penalty to finish the game off.

Huddersfield: Shaw; Sutcliffe (Whitehead 60), Paxman (B), Paxman (L), Johnson (M); Johnson (C), Clayton; McPhail (Slater 77), Davies (Gough 58), Stringwell, Harris, Rhodes, Jacobsz, Hinchliff,

Kendal: Park, Butler, Aloe, Voortman, Boyd, Stephens, Gough, Coxon, Martindale, Harryman, Hayton, Gore, Wilson (M), Holmes, Wilson (C).

Referee: Dave Edmunds (The Wirral).