On this day – 30 April
A look through the archives to see what was happening to Reds on the 30th April in previous years…….
It wasn’t so much a day of celebration at Borough Park, just relief. Our 2011 home game against Hinckley United saw Workington get the better of the Leicestershire side for the first time – at the eighth attempt!
And there was another first on the day with Jonny Blake (pictured above celebrating) scoring his inaugural Conference goal which gave us a half time lead. To complete a comfortable 3-1 victory, Shaun Vipond and Gareth Arnison added further goals.
It was anything but straightforward when we met Whitby Town on home soil in 2005 and our last chance to win the title ebbed away in a frustrating 2-1 defeat. Reds had won at Whitby a few days earlier but were second best in the return with a poor showing compounded by Steve Birks’ red card. We were already 2-0 down and out of the game when Craig Johnston found the target.
So Hyde won the title and Reds had to settle for runners-up and a first crack at the play-offs!
We also welcomed a first ever win over Guiseley in our final home match of the ’93-94 campaign. The Leeds side had just clinched the title so our 3-0 success had a bit of a hollow ring to it but a win nevertheless.
Regular marksmen Martin Henderson and Paddy Atkinson were joined on the score-sheet by Jason Prins but Guiseley still finished with 41 more points than we did!
In 1988, we were rock-bottom of the Northern Premier League so a 2-0 home defeat by runners-up, Hyde United, was regarded as a moral victory.
There had been a similar end to our sixth season in the NPL in 1983 but the 2-0 loss at Macclesfield Town was eased by a 7th place finish – our highest position post Football League. In Macclesfield blue that day was Dave Goodwin who had played a few games for Reds during our final Fourth Division campaign.
And speaking of that ill-fated Football League farewell, the writing was on the wall, it seemed, when Swansea City extended our winless run to nine matches with a 3-1 win in 1977 in front of another sub 1000 attendance. Our consolation goal was bagged by Martin Harris.
York City was a bottom four club when they visited Cumbria in 1969 whilst Reds, for a change, sat comfortably in mid table. And the respective positions were reflected by a 2-0 Workington win, Tommy Spratt, against his former club, and Alan Tyrer netting the all important goals.
Dixie Hale (pictured) missed very few games in his three seasons with the club and was an ever-present in 1965-66, playing all forty six league games plus a further six cup matches. He chipped in with a few goals too, one of which helped us to a 1-1 draw at Oldham Athletic.
Only two Workington players had the satisfaction of scoring a hat-trick on the last day of April with both feats achieved in the thirties.
Tommy Maidment’s threesome helped us to a 5-2 home win over Horden Colliery Welfare in 1936 four years after Jock Miller had achieved the same against Annfield Plain in a 5-1 success. Both games were played at Lonsdale Park. And, in contrast, Reds finished the 1926-27 season with a goalless draw in the home clash against Newcastle United Reserves. Remarkably, it was Reds’ fourth 0-0 draw in consecutive matches!
