ON THIS DAY: 01 March – Perfect hat-trick & Reds TV debut
Apart from one afternoon when we scored seven in a Northern Premier League fixture, the 1st March has been a tale of woe for Reds in years gone with the team experiencing numerous defeats including a heavy reverse on our television debut…….
2014 Altrincham (away) 0-2 Joe Mwasile scored in this fixture two seasons running but, unfortunately, he was an opponent on this occasion. He had helped us to a 2-1 victory previously but scored the second in the Skrill North encounter which was another nail in the relegation coffin.
After five consecutive postponements, Reds were pleased to get back in action but the defeat at Moss Lane extended the winless sequence to fourteen games.
Whilst Jonny Jamieson was making his Conference debut for Reds, his opposite number, Stuart Coburn, was representing Alty for the 629th time!
2008 Gainsborough Trinity (home) 1-2 This game featured two former Carlisle United players at the opposite end of their respective careers. Dan Kirkup, 19, had joined Reds on loan and made a steady debut but a forty year old David Reeves was still doing a good job for his twelfth and final club, Trinity.
Reds centre forward Jonny Wright admitted he loved watching Reeves in his prime at Brunton Park although I’m quite sure he didn’t applaud when he opened the scoring in the first half. We got back on terms thanks to an own-goal but immediately handed back the initiative by conceding a penalty from which they converted the winner.
2003 Eastwood Town (home) 7-2 Reds have often made hard work of dealing with struggling teams but that wasn’t the case on this occasion as we put relegation-bound Eastwood to the sword.
And it was a red letter day for John Wharton and Robert Ennis who both chipped in with their first hat-trick for the club. Indeed, John scored the perfect threesome – header, left foot and right foot! I cannot recall another Workington player wearing the number 3 shirt ending the game with a hat-trick.
Somewhat overshadowed by John’s and Rob’s achievement, Tony Hopper contributed with the goal of the match.
Our Reserves were also involved in a nine-goal extravaganza – they lost 9-0 at Cleator Moor Celtic – and there were plenty of goals at Brunton Park too where Hull City emerged 5-1 winners!
1997 Lincoln United (away) 0-1 Reds probably deserved a point from this gallant performance but, ultimately, came away empty handed after conceding the only goal in the 85th minute. We did have the ball in the Lincoln net twice but both were rightly disallowed for minor offences. Lincoln missed out on promotion by one goal and finished 3rd, Reds avoided relegation by finishing fourth from bottom!
1986 Rhyl (home) 0-2 The Manager of the Month curse struck again as Reds lost to their Welsh visitors. Wayne Harrison had been presented with the giant bottle of whisky in recognition of the team’s excellent results in February, which, ironically, included a fine win at Rhyl, prior to kick-off. But we couldn’t match Rhyl second time around and they emerged comfortable winners on the day.
Wayne came closest to scoring a consolation goal, only for his thumping shot to rebound off the crossbar.
1980 Grantham (away) 1-3 Jermaine Jenas’ father was an opponent forty one years ago and a few years before the television personality and former Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, QPR and England player came into this world.
Jenas, senior, scored twice as Grantham completed a Northern Premier League double at our expense with skipper John Reach netting our sole reply.
1978 Frickley Athletic (home) 0-1 Mid-table Frickley were unhappy at having to travel to Borough Park for a Wednesday night fixture but their mood lifted somewhat after this odd goal victory.
1975 Rotherham United (away) 0-1 The Millers were another team we never manage to beat during our time in the Football League and we slipped to a narrow defeat at Millmoor. The intention was to play for a draw but once they scored, there was no Plan B!
Contributing to our downfall were three former Workington players (Bob Delgado, Tommy Spencer and Jimmy Goodfellow) and a future Red (Mick Leng).
1969 Darlington (away) 2-6 This match was recorded by Tyne Tees Television and broadcast next day on their Sunday afternoon Shoot programme. Shamefully, though, Border TV never took the highlights so Workington supporters were denied the opportunity of seeing their heroes on the small screen.
Perhaps it was a good decision in hindsight as Reds shipped six goals on their TV debut, although they were in contention for an hour.
Future Reds manager, Les O’Neill, scored twice that day for Darlo with Tommy Spencer netting for Reds just before half time (1-3) and Derek Trail soon after the restart (2-3), the latter doing so after coming on as a substitute.
1958 Barrow (away) 0-0 We failed to score in both games against Barrow with the two matches attracting 8,000 plus crowds to Borough Park and Holker Street respectively.
We were indebted to our Lancashire goalkeeper on this occasion with Wilf Billington keeping a clean sheet!
1952 Gateshead (home) 1-2 Willie Harkness had played a prominent role during our latter days in the North Eastern League but only appeared in seven Football League matches in Workington red. He scored his only goal in Third Division (North) on this day, albeit in defeat. Harkness, became chairman of his beloved Queen of the South and later held the same position with the Scottish FA.
