SOUTH Lakes have regained the initiative in the Cumbria Women’s League and are within touching distance of winning the title.

After being top of the tree all season, the Ulverston side had dropped below Keswick recently after a couple of poor results.

But with Keswick losing 5-2 at Wigton, and South Lakes beating Kendal and Ambleside in quick succession, their fate is back in their own hands.

And if the Red and Blacks beat Kirkby Lonsdale in their final home game of the season at Ulverston Leisure Centre this Saturday, the title will be theirs (12.30pm push-back).

Lakes had to come from behind to beat Kendal 10-2 in their midweek match. After conceding an early goal, the home side shook off their nerves and started to play some great hockey.

Pam Robertson found Emma Armstrong with a great pass, and she dribbled it round the back and switched it across to Gemma Jupp to score Lakes’ equalizer.

South Lakes kept pressing, and when Lois Viney got hold of the ball and dribbled down the left, she switched the ball across to Jenny Clayton who played it in to Anna Stable and she made no mistake to make it 2-1.

Two minutes later, Armstrong dribbled the ball from the halfway line and used her speed to get around the Kendal defence and net Lakes’ third goal.

A fourth goal followed after some great build-up play from Bekah Nuttall, Robertson and Natalie Knowles, with Armstrong again the scorer.

Kendal hit back to make it 4-2, but Lakes had the last laugh of an eventful first half after a great move produced goal number five.

Rebecca Cook played the ball out to Lesley Davey who hit the ball down to Armstrong. She exchanged passes with Robertson before dribbling down the line, and switching it to Stable.

She took a shot and the ball rebounded to Armstrong who completed her hat-trick. Eleven minutes into the second half Anna Stable managed to bag herself another goal, making it 6-2.

Holly Nuttall came on for the last 15 minutes and made a great impact, helping Stable score the seventh.

Catherine Cooke then dribbled the ball down the pitch from the halfway line and won her team a short corner.

Rebecca Cook injected the ball out to Holly Nuttall who struck the ball home.

Jupp scored number nine soon after, and one minute before the final whistle, Knowles completed the scoring.

There was one negative for South Lakes, with goalkeeper Joy Potter suffering a nasty injury effectively ending her season.

South Lakes travelled to Kendal with the bare 11 players on Saturday to take on Ambleside, but knowing victory would put the destination of the title back in their own hands.

It took the visitors just four minutes to open the scoring. From a short corner Rebecca Cook found Holly Nuttall who slipped it left to Natalie Knowles and she netted.

Lakes’ defensive line were rock-solid, with Lesley Davey, Bekah Nuttall and Catherine Cooke supporting one another and creating space to play the ball out wide to their attacking midfielders.

However, Ambleside did have an opportunity to score, but keeper Gayle Mawdsley came out well and cleared the ball to safety.

With three minutes to go before the half-time whistle, Gemma Jupp bagged Lakes’ second goal after great build-up play from Holly Nuttall and Jenny Clayton.

Lakes went into the second half confident of maintaining the lead, but after having spurned a few opportunities to extend their advantage, Ambleside grabbed a breakaway goal to halve the deficit to 2-1 with 15 minutes remaining.

Ten minutes from the end, heavy snowfall covered the pitch and made it very hard to see the lines, but thankfully the game was played to the finish and Lakes claimed a vital victory.