Thirkell & Ibrahimi On Target As The Brewers Draw At Kendal

Matt Poole’s deft header off the post gave Kendal a sixth minute lead in the basking Cumbrian sunshine.

Billy Miller’s side rallied and responded with two goals in two minutes with the half reaching its end.

Dan Thirkell tapped in from a Conor Sellars corner to equalise before Fatlum Ibrahimi netted his first goal of the season with a stunning strike off the underside of the bar.

Taddy had a number of good opportunities to further their lead in the second half before they were made to pay.

Martin Grundy saw his header scuffed off the line but only back out to substitute Josh Draycott who lashed into the back of the net from close range to share the spoils.

Taddy boss Billy Miller welcomed Josh Barrett back into the starting line-up after recovering from an ankle injury as well as handing a full debut to Portuguese forward Carlos Djalo.

On a pleasant evening in the picturesque town of Kendal, the home side got out of the blocks the quicker with Matt Poole testing Chandler Hallwood’s handling with a firm strike.

Nevertheless the aforementioned Poole did strike gold first as Kendal took a sixth minute lead.

Fatlum Ibrahimi felt he was clipped in the middle of the park by Danny McGahon but referee Richard Holmes, who let an unusual amount go in the match felt there wasn’t enough in the coming together.

Kendal quickly switched the play and a teasing cross from the right-hand touchline bounced up invitingly for Matt Poole who headed in off the inside of the upright.

Albion responded well to going a goal behind with Tom Corner and new boy Carlos Djalo proving to be a handful for the Town defence.

However it was centre-back Gregg Anderson that threatened to level the match after 25 minutes.

Conor Sellars’ free-kick invited Anderson to go for the diving header – to which he did and saw his effort smack off the post.

One header goes in off the post, another goes wide.

Taddy really began to get a strong hold of the contest after half an hour with the equaliser looking like a matter of when not if.

Carlos Djalo almost opened his account for the Brewers when the woodwork was made to rattle for a third time.

A powerful drive from the edge of the area cracked off the crossbar and came to Kendal’s rescue once again.

Miller’s men did deservedly draw level eight minutes from the half-time interval when Conor Sellars’ set-piece was brilliant yet again delivering a corner on a plate for Dan Thirkell to tap in his second goal of the season from three yards out.

At this point Taddy were purring, or brewing if you like, and they netted a misery compiler just two minutes later and what a goal it was.

Midfielder Fatlum Ibrahimi pounced on Stuart McDonald’s header by chesting down and sending a screaming rocket of a half volley off the underside of the bar bouncing just over the line.

Half-Time: Kendal Town 1-2 Tadcaster Albion

Taddy continued the second half where they left off in the first, looking extremely dangerous going forward with the likes of Conor Sellars and Rob Youhill.

Youhill’s inventiveness continued to perplex full-back Ben Thomas seeing the winger gallop into an abundance of space down the right but the final balls to Corner or Djalo were well snuffed out by the Kendal back-line.

As the hour mark passed the game started to become increasingly stretched leading to more openings for both sides.

The home side came close to pegging back Tad twice in the space of a couple of minutes with Sam Bailey’s free-kick pin-balling around the penalty area before being cleared followed by Chandler Hallwood making a great adjusted save to deny Poole his second.

After a slight lull in the contest, Kendal did in fact equalise with twelve minutes remaining.

Martin Grundy’s towering header was met with large appeals asking if it was over the line but before the appeals could be answered substitute Josh Draycott scrambled into the bottom corner much to the home fans’ delight.

No side could conjure up a clear cut chance to take all three points but Rob Youhill kept Kendal keeper Will Kitchen on his toes with a sweet volley at goal before Draycott blasted across the face but to no avail.

Full-Time: Kendal Town 2-2 Tadcaster Albion

Kendal: Kitchen, Aspin (Freeland 73), Thomas (Draycott 52), Grundy, McDonald ©, Wardle, Bailey, McGahon, Dudley, Poole, Hoctor (Bailey 68)

Tadcaster: Hallwood, Armstrong, Shepherd, Barrett, Anderson ©, Thirkell, Youhill, Ibrahimi (Mycoe 87), Corner, Djalo (Crouz 78), Sellars (Heath 87)

Ref: Richard Holmes

Att: 104