On this day – 29 March
A look back through the archives to see what was happening to Reds on the 29 March in years gone-by…………
This particular date hasn’t been too kind to Workington over the years with very few wins recorded and several heavy defeats inflicted upon us.
Finishing second best has been a regular occurrence and that was certainly the case two years ago when South Shields emerged 5-1 winners at Borough Park in an Integro League Cup quarter-final tie.
Apart from Aaran Taylor, Reds fielded an U21 side with the average age of the team just 19. And one player celebrated his 19th birthday by scoring Reds’ goal with Max Brown equalising Shields’ opener in the first half.
But Shields ran away with the game in the second half, scoring four further goals.
That wasn’t the heaviest reversal either with painful experiences suffered in matches twenty years apart.
In 1948, we lost 6-0 in a North Eastern League fixture at Ashington but a Fourth Division encounter at Southend United, on a Friday night, at Roots Hall in 1968 was even worse. They thrashed us 7-0 and effectively ended goalkeeper Ian Ower’s career just one game short of his 200th league appearance. Southend was a well-supported club at the time and a 14,000 crowd saw Reds suffer under the floodlights.
Although goalkeepers were often ‘under the cosh’ playing for Reds on this day, there were exceptions.
Mike Rogan, who spent eleven seasons with the club, kept a clean sheet in a goalless draw at Chester in 1975 while Australian ‘keeper, Danijel Nizic, did likewise in a 0-0 home draw v. Solihull Moors six years ago. The two ‘keepers are pictured.
The last time Workington celebrated a win on the 29th was way back in 1937 when we got the better of Spennymoor United in a North Eastern League Cup semi-final, emerging 3-0 winners at Lonsdale Park before a crowd of 4,511.
Other than that, we didn’t enjoy much luck although a 1947 encounter at Consett was abandoned because of thick fog with twenty minutes of the match remaining. We were 3-2 down when the referee called a halt – and Reds won when the game was re-scheduled!
Summary:
1929 Jarrow (away) won 4-3 (Thom, 2, Forbes, Barbour)
1930 Scotswood (away) won 1-0 (Thom)
1933 Chopwell Institute (away) lost 0-4
1937 Spennymoor United (home) won 3-0 (Carruthers, Sewell, 2)
1947 Consett (away) losing 2-3 (Thwaites, 2) when match was abandoned
1948 Ashington (away) lost 0-6
1958 Chester (away) lost 3-4 (Colbridge, Armstrong, Alexander)
1965 Port Vale (away) lost 0-2
1968 Southend United (away) lost 0-7
1975 Chester (away) drew 0-0
1979 Frickley Athletic (home) lost 1-2 (Gill)
1997 Droylsden (away) lost 1-3 (Bowen)
2003 Trafford (away) lost 2-3 (Hopper, Johnston)
2014 Solihull Moors (home) drew 0-0
2018 South Shields (home) lost 1-5 (Brown)
Comments (2)
Robert C
I lived in workington from 1967 to 1968 having moved up from Essex . Southend started playing their home games on a Friday night so that their home games did not clash with the big London clubs as everyone kiked off at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon in those days. Their home crowds sored so having a crowd of 14000 for an old 3rd or 4th division game was not unusual. They were a bit of a yoyo club. Promoted to 3rd division and relegated the next as bottom four went down. When workington got beat 7-0 was when they had a good side. The last time I saw workington play before moving back to Cumbria last year was a 1-1 draw. Massie (apology for spelling) scored an equaliser in last few minutes in the early 1970’s. Felt like I was only person in the ground who shouted goal. Perhaps with out sky TV large crowds would still be the norm but that is another argument. I am back supporting the reds after a 50 year absence and the ground still looks the same. I feel this season should have been settled on average points but that again is another argument. Stay safe every one and stick together on and off the pitch for next season
wafcred
I took my wife to be to the match at Southend on
a wet night. After almost 52 years if marriage she hasn’t been to a game since.