A BRAVE fight by Kendal Ladies was not enough to save then from defeat at the hands of a competitive and determined City of York on Saturday.

Despite the damp, cold conditions, the home side battled well and with only seconds remaining were 3-2 down and still in the game.

But a last minute penalty flick sealed a 4-3 win for York who stay third in the North Premier Division One table.

Within 20 minutes of the first half, a confident York side had gone two goals up, but Kendal pulled a goal back thanks to forward Zoe Dempsey in the closing minutes of the first half.

And it got better just four minutes into the second half when the Greens managed to intercept a ball from York and drive it back to their defensive D with Mel Whalley-Jones scoring near the penalty spot to level it up at 2-2.

But they had little chance to enjoy the moment as York stormed back at them and they had to survive a number of penalty corners against them.

Kendal had to put up with some increasingly physical challenges from the visitors with Emma Woodburn being hit in the face after one short corner and it was thankful that she was wearing a protective mask.

With physical contact growing on both sides, two green cards were given, one to a York player and one to Kendal's Celia Powell.

Karen Tyson also had her fair share of physical contact after taking out one of York's defensive players, the decision actually going in Kendal's favour since the York player was in fact blocking Tyson.

Unfortunately, they fell behind and when a yellow card and ultimately a penalty flick was given against the Greens after Laura Morris's questionable tackle in the D, their fate was sealed

The Greens now travel to Stokesley for a rearranged match which will be their final fixture before the Christmas break.