KENDAL boss Michael Stringfellow praised his 'fantastic' team after their resounding 3-0 win against the much-fancied Warrington.

The Mintcakes stood up to one of the most physical sides in the league and managed to keep their heads when it seemed everybody else in the Lancaster and Morecambe College Stadium was losing theirs.

Warrington looked to dominate the game physically from the outset but Kendal rebuffed their advances.

"We knew what type of game it was going to be," said Stringfellow.

"Warrington are a physical side and they try to dominate you. They will try to out-battle you and they have got quality players. We knew we had to be strong for the first 20 minutes and we won our individual battles which allowed us to go on and win the game.

"Our lads were fantastic and our quality came through in the end."

Despite a lot of injuries and disruption in the back four and goalkeeper positions so far this campaign, Kendal managed to keep a clean sheet against one of the top scoring teams in the league - much to the manager's delight.

"We have had players in and out of the back four as well as several different goalkeepers," Strongfellow commented.

"It's important that they get used to playing with each other and build up a relationship.

"It's been a problem over the last few weeks and we thought we would have to score a few just to win the game.

"We want them working together as a unit but the back four were outstanding today - that said, so was everybody else."

Kendal went into the game as underdogs after Warrington's heroics in the FA Cup when they beat League Two Exeter City 1-0.

That made the Mintcakes' victory all the sweeter.

Stringfellow said: "Before the game it was all about Warrington. They had the momentum. Their performance in the FA Cup was a credit to non-league so take nothing away from them. I think this will kick-start us and show what kind of team we are going to be. We have a bit of everything: we can win the battle and play football."

Looking forward, 'Stringy' remains fixed on the play off places.

"We are still targetting the playoffs. There's some good sides with big budgets but that's our aim.

"Since I've been here we've not lost at home and we need to turn this place into a fortress."