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Lee is still very lively in the Welsh Premier!
Lee Kendall played in goal for several seasons at Haverfordwest County and now this larger than life character is still showing why he is regarded as one of the best keepers in the Welsh Premier with excellent displays at Port Talbot after a previous successful spell with Rhyl.
PembrokeshireSport.co.uk felt it was time to find out a little bit more about a player who supporters either love or hate, and who admits that he is totally focussed on winning as he is capable of making superb saves and bossing his defence, whilst sometimes upsetting opposing supporters with his comments throughout matches. It is to his credit, however, that outside the heat of a game he is a friendly, likeable character and is the first to admit when he has gone over the top and so is ready to apologise.
Yet his fans at the Bridge Meadow Stadium might be surprised to learn that Lee started out as a central midfielder but made the switch to goalkeeper with some success as a natural progression because his father Mark Kendall was a top goalkeeper with Spurs, Newport County, Wolves and Swansea – and Lee used to go along with dad to watch him play.
Major influences and
other sporting gloves
Ask Lee about major influences on his football and he would unhesitatingly nominate his father, who tragically died at a very early age. Outside of the game he is very much a family man and says he also gets great support from wife Tina, son Ashton (14), who is a useful central defender with Llanedeyrn Bulldogs, in Cardiff, and daughter Ella (4).
Local followers of football might also be surprised to learn that Lee is a very keen cricketer in the summer months, playing for Blackwood Cricket Club as a wicket-keeper/batsman. He has a top score of 79 and just two seasons ago had his best spell with the gloves as he took 20 catches and 12 stumpings.
County and Welsh honours
When Lee took up the goalkeeping gloves he not only played for Cefn Forest Boys, a local village club, but for Gwent County and then for the Welsh Schoolboys in the Victory Shield matches against England, Scotland and Ireland. He played a season early and in the second campaign and actually captained the Welsh Schools’ team, which he rightly regards as a great honour and is one of the memorable moments in his long career.
Equally memorable have been the appearances he has made for Wales at under 18, and under 21 levels, both of whom he captained, and also for the Welsh semi-professional side.
“It was a real thrill to pull on the Welsh jersey and listen to the national anthem being played,” said Lee, “I will never forget those moments.”
Crystal Palace stint
By this time he had signed schoolboy forms with Crystal Palace and travelled up to London every weekend to train and play matches under youth team coach Peter Nicholas, who was a full Welsh international for many years. After completing his GCSE exams he moved up to London to stay in lodgings and signed for Palace, playing 120 games for their second string and being on the bench for ten first-team games, starting with a visit to Old Trafford, but unfortunately he never made it onto the pitch for a first-team match. Then Terry Venables arrived at the club and made changes so that Peter Nicholas moved to Barry Town – and Lee joined him on loan at Jenner Park in a very strong team which qualified for Europe where Lee played against top Portuguese team Boa Vista in the EUFA Cup.
Major changes
Then he had a phone call from palace chairman Simon Jordan telling Lee that he was going to be sold, with interest from Boa Vista and Cardiff City. He flew out to Portugal for discussions but decided to join Cardiff City for a fee in the region of six figures, and played seven times for the first team as they gained promotion from Division Three to Division Two – and met Tina during his stay at Ninian Park.
Then Lenny Lawrence took over the reins and there were more changes, with Lee given a month’s loan at Haverfordwest County was managed by John Lewis. He made his debut against Newy Cefn Druids but damaged a cartilage in a 2-2 draw and so was out for a while.
Bridge Meadow bound
This was followed by a short spell at Shrewsbury but Lee wasn’t happy there and returned to the Bridge Meadow Stadium, where he had kept in touch with Barry Vaughan, Winston Griffiths and Kenny Ellis. He also know players like Deryn Brace and Eston Chiverton and so was delighted to be offered a contract back at the Bridge Meadow Stadium, where he enjoyed five very happy years.
In his first season he helped the Bluebirds climb out of the relegation zone and into 14th place, followed by successful campaigns where they came third and fourth – and got into Europe as a real highlight when they took on an Icelandic team. They also reached the semi-finals of the Welsh Cup in a very enjoyable time for the club where Lee singled out players of the calibre of Colin Loss, Darren Ryan, Rhys Griffiths, Deryn Brace and Dean Rossiter as very good players.
Other moves
But he was eager to win trophies and when Rhyl offered him a contract it was impossible to turn down, despite the long journeys to North Wales to train and play.
“We qualified for Europe in our first season and reached the League Cup Final,” says Lee, “and in my second year there we picked up a league champions’ medal and again went into Europe.”
But the travel was immense and so Lee moved back down south to Port Talbot, where he has helped the local club into fifth place in the table. He has enjoyed his short stint there but is also very busy on a degree course with the University of Glamorgan so that when his football days are over he will be a well-qualified football coach and hopefully take up a role as a teacher.
Still keeps in touch with the Bluebirds
But at 29 he still has plenty of games in him and he still won’t dismiss the prospect of a return to the Bridge Meadow some day.
“My heart is still at Haverfordwest and there are not many days that I don’t have a chat with the excellent chairman Rob Summons or manager Derek Brazil,” says Lee. “I have made so many friends there, including lots of supporters and club president Des Shanklin, that it would be nice to finish off my playing days back with the Bluebirds.
“But that’s in the future and although I have made mistakes in the past that have cost me a few bans I will still carry on playing the game my way, because that is all I can do. I know some opposing supporters don’t like me but that’s football and I’ll carry on giving 100% to any club that I play for. I am trying to mellow but my competitive instinct means that I hate conceding goals and love to see them going in at the other end!”
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