ON THIS DAY: 11 March – Maiden win at Keys Park & shock win at Rovers
Looking back at some of the teams we have played on the 11th March in previous years…….
2017 Hednesford Town (away) 2-0 A good steady performance earned Reds their first goals and a maiden win at Keys Park and they did so despite playing the last hour with only ten men. James Earl had been sent off for ‘aggressive retaliation’ in the thirty fifth minute.
Nevertheless, we went on to score twice in the second half to secure the points. Kyle May headed home the opener on the hour, via a Conor Tinnion free kick, and Nathan Waterston’s clever lob from an acute angle made the points safe fifteen minutes from the end.
Darren Campion, who spent a brief loan spell with us nine years earlier, was playing for the hosts.
2006 Gainsborough Trinity (away) 0-0 We managed to record a first ever clean sheet at the Northolme ground, with Adam Collin keeping the opposition at bay without too much discomfort, but it was a case of two points dropped rather than one gained.
We squandered enough chances to have won three or four games and when Darren Edmondson powered home what looked to be the winning goal, it was disallowed for an infringement in the build-up.
The referee that day was Craig Pawson, another who learned his trade in the NPL before progressing to the Premier League. He will be on duty at Molineux for the Wolves v. Liverpool game on Monday.
2000 Bradford Park Avenue (home) 0-2 Reds’ Football League record against Park Avenue wasn’t too clever and a similar pattern has emerged throughout the non-league era. After an even first half, it was all Bradford in the second and they strolled to a comfortable win.
The club had been presented with a ‘Club of the Month’ award prior to kick-off by a League official so an away win was on the cards from that moment onwards!
1995 Harrogate Town (home) 0-1 Harrogate have also won frequently at Borough Park in the past and they did so on this occasion despite their ‘keeper being sent off after twenty minutes.
They scored a second half winner and an inept home side never threatened an equaliser as they slipped to a fourth consecutive home defeat.
Reds were also reduced to ten men before the end with Gary Messenger first into the showers after picking up a red card.
1989 Alfreton Town (home) 2-1 Two of Maryport’s finest, John George and Graeme Nicholson, scored the goals which accounted for a poor Alfreton side.
John was gifted the first following an error by the visiting goalkeeper and then Graeme netted his 13th of the campaign with a rare header.
Complacency then set in and we allowed the Alfreton Reds to grab a late consolation goal.
1986 Macclesfield Town (away) 0-1 This was Reds’ third away game in four days (Saturday/Sunday/Tuesday) but there would be no complaints about fatigue from the lads. That was how non-league football worked and there was never any discussion about player welfare.
It was a League Cup tie and Macc netted a second half winner to progress.
1978 Wigan Athletic (home) 1-4 Reds and Wigan have certainly gone in different directions since the late seventies and the only two NPL meetings between the clubs hinted at regression and progression respectively.
Wigan beat us home and away by the same score and their success at Borough Park was part of a twenty six match unbeaten run which culminated in them finishing as runners-up and election to the Football League.
Steve Crelling scored for Reds in the first half but it was merely a consolation as the visitors dominated.
1972 Crewe Alexandra (home) 1-0 Workington’s match winner on this occasion was Welshman, Dennis Hawkins, who had joined us on loan from Shrewsbury Town. He scored his only goal in six appearances to secure the win against bottom of the table Crewe.
He had started his career with Leeds United and won several Wales caps at U23 level.
1967 Bristol Rovers (away) 1-0 Rovers were pushing for promotion at the top end of the Third Division whilst Reds would finish the season with the wooden spoon and suffer relegation. So this win at Eastville (the only ground I know with flower beds behind each goal) was regarded as the shock result of the day, especially after Rovers’ win at Borough Park three weeks earlier.
Brian Tinnion scored the winning goal for Reds to end a long losing streak on the road.
1966 Shrewsbury Town (home) 1-3 Shrewsbury’s manager, the legendary Football League scorer, Arthur Rowley, created more interest for the autograph hunters than any of the players before and after this game.
He had scored 434 league goals in a distinguished career (including 152 for the club he now managed).
His team came out on top at Borough Park with Ken Oliver scoring our lone goal.
1961 Exeter City (home) 3-1 The Devon side were struggling in the lower half of the Fourth Division table and Reds eased to a comfortable victory. Bill Bradbury, Ron McGarry and Jackie Hinchliffe shared the goals for Joe Harvey’s team.
