ON THIS DAY: 4 January – Man Utd in the FA Cup
Apart from taking on Manchester United in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup, who else have Workington played on the 4th January over the years…….
Yes, the 4th January, 1958 is a date firmly etched into the memories of all Workington supporters of a certain age.
That was the unforgettable day when Manchester United came to town in the most historic game ever to take place at Borough Park.
The crowd was listed as 21,000, which generated record receipts of £2,236, with the teams lining up as follows:
Workington: Malcolm Newlands, Bobby Brown, Alex Rollo, Jack Bertolini, George Aitken, Keith Burkinshaw, Norman Mitchell, Billy Robson, Ted Purdon, Ken Chisholm, Clive Colbridge
Manchester United: Harry Gregg, Bill Foulkes, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Mark Jones, Duncan Edwards, Ken Morgans, Bobby Charlton, Tommy Taylor, Dennis Violett, Albert Scanlon
Workington had the audacity to take a first half lead thanks to a Clive Colbridge (pictured in action with Bill Foulkes) goal but United responded in the second half and a quick-fire hat-trick from Dennis Viollet eased Matt Busby’s multi-talented team through to the next round.
Plenty of plaudits for humble Workington following a gallant effort against the then English champions.
Reds did manage two Football League victories on this day – both on foreign soil.
In 1969, we kicked off the New Year with an impressive 3-0 win at Brentford with Tony Geidmintis, John Ogilvie and Brian Tinnion sharing the goals in Reds’ best win of the season.
It proved to be Brian Tinnion’s final goal for the club prior to his move to Wrexham.
Our start to 1975 was equally as satisfying with Tony Geidmintis again on the score sheet in a 1-0 success at Swansea City’s old Vetch Field Ground.
We completed the double over the Swans that season but, like us, they finished in the bottom four of the Fourth Division, five points better off than Reds!
There was another trip to Wales in 1992 for a Northern Premier League fixture at Caernarfon Town but it wasn’t a day to remember as we were crushed 5-0.
Graham Goulding had the satisfaction of scoring our first goal of 2003 which helped us to a 1-0 victory over Leek Town at Harrison Park. Leek had the last laugh, though, as they finished 9th in the Unibond League First Division, Reds finished 10th!
Playing under the Skrill North (National North) banner in 2014, we were in a desperate run of form. A 3-2 home defeat by Histon was our tenth game without a win and the threat of relegation was greater than ever.
Hindmarch
Stephen Hindmarch scored his first Borough Park goal that day as did Curtis Haley who had joined the club on loan from Blackburn Rovers.
Twelve months ago, we were held to a 2-2 draw by Trafford in a game which saw our quickest ever substitution. As soon as we kicked off, Dav Symington felt a twinge in his back and his replacement joined the game after one minute!
Regular marksmen, Conor Tinnion and Scott Allison, scored the goals which earned a valuable point.
