On this day – 12 April
A look through the archives to see what was happening to our team on 12 April in years gone by………….
High scoring matches were common place during the North Eastern League era and we benefitted from two on this day back in the thirties.
Ninety years ago, we ran out 7-1 winners in a home clash against Annfield Plain and the prolific Jack Thom helped himself to a personal tally of five.
The centre forward would finish the season with 59 goals.
In 1937, Reds hit double figures putting ten past Jarrow who failed to reply. Top scorer Dougie Sewell had a red letter day, scoring a double hat-trick adding to the one he netted in the away match which Workington won, 1-0.
To redress the balance slightly, we were on the wrong end of a 6-0 score-line in 1989 on our first visit to Colne Dynamoes. Three players with Reds connections – Keith Mason, Barrie Stimpson and Vaughn Williams – were in Colne red that day with the latter scoring one of the goals.
All other games on this day produced less spectacular score-lines with mixed success.
We enjoyed just two Football League wins on this day. Back in 1963, two Mike Commons (pictured) goals helped us to a 3-2 victory at Stockport County with our more regular scorer, Dave Carr, netting the other.
The fixture list administrators sent us to Darlington in 1968 and again in 1971. We lost 1-0 on the first visit but a Dave Helliwell goal secured a lone-goal win second time around.
We were in a slight panic ahead of Caernarfon Town’s first ever visit to Borough Park in 1986 after regular goalkeeper, Keith Hunton, picked up an injury in the warm-up. But we still kept a clean sheet in a goalless draw with outfield player, Tony Stones, a more than capable deputy.
Three wins were obtained during the nineties but none as fortunate as a 1-0 success over Curzon Ashton in 1993. We toiled all afternoon and the best bet looked a goalless draw. That was until Jimmy Birch scored a spectacular own-goal in the 89th minute.
Our 1997 victory was more straightforward with Ian Milburn (2), Lee Collins and Martin Henderson sharing the goals in a 4-1 success over Great Harwood Town.
Paul Stewart’s early headed goal at Clitheroe secured a vital North West Counties League win in 1999 with a former Workington hero, Clive Middlemass, spotted in the crowd.
Current Select Group referee, Jon Moss, was ‘cutting his teeth’ in the Northern Premier League seventeen years ago and was in charge of Reds’ game at Ossett Town. No complaints about the man in the middle on that occasion as we won 2-0 with one of Craig Johnston’s two goals coming from the penalty spot!
A 93rd minute goal from Josef Jackson earned Reds a welcome 1-0 victory against Worcester City six years ago, our final win in Conference North.
Joe (pictured) finished the campaign with 14 goals to end his one and only season at Borough Park as top scorer.
