On this day – 7 April
A look through the archives to see what was happening to Reds on 7 April in previous years………
We have been involved in some high scoring matches in the past and none more painful than a Fourth Division encounter here in 1976 versus Barnsley.
The mid-table Yorkshire outfit were nothing special at the time but we made them look like world-beaters that night as they romped to a 7-1 victory, Workington’s heaviest home defeat in twenty six seasons of League football.
I’m not sure who was the more shocked, the 900 fans that turned up at Borough Park or the thousands back in Yorkshire. It was one of only two away wins Barnsley had recorded that season.
John Peachey grabbed a hat-trick and two different players converted penalties for the visitors with John Honour netting our consolation with the only goal of his Reds career.
Another one-sided encounter took place in 1992 in the HFS Loans League Division One, as it was then known.
We travelled to Colwyn Bay for a Tuesday night fixture and, non-league being non-league, didn’t arrive at Llanelian Road until twenty minutes before kick-off.
Despite the late arrival, Reds had the audacity to take a third minute lead – thanks to Lee O’Keefe’s first goal for the club. But that was as good is it got from a Workington perspective as the North Wales club handed out a drubbing.
There was a seven-goal match where Reds came out on top but that was back in 1956 with our boys inflicting a 6-1 defeat upon Gateshead. The build-up to this game saw Reds fail to score in four successive matches then, after putting Gateshead to the sword, draw blanks in a further two games.
Jimmy Dailey and Jackie Bertolini both chipped in with a couple of goals while Des Jones and Ernie Whittle netted one each.
We have played two important cup ties on this day but both, unfortunately, resulted in an odd goal defeat.
In 1993, about 100 Reds fans travelled to Winsford United for the second leg of the League Cup semi-final with Reds already a goal down from the home leg. There would be no cup shock on this occasion as Winsford, in the division above us at the time, comfortably emerged 2-0 aggregate winners.
Then in 2004 we were in derby action at Holker Street, taking on Barrow in the President’s Cup Final, first leg. We lost 3-2 on the night, in front of a 1,151gate, with Simon Tucker and Paul O’Neill scoring the goals which kept us in the tie ahead of the Borough Park instalment.
There was an eventful league encounter against Congleton Town at home in 2001with Reds winning 3-2 despite having goalkeeper, Kevin Wolfe sent off after twenty seven minutes. Glenn Murray had opened the scoring but we were 2-1 down at half time before levelling matters via an own-goal. Gary Milne netted the winner to cap a brave performance.
Teenage defender, Andrew Jones had gone in goal after Wolfe’s dismissal.
There was another feisty affair here four years ago when Rushall Olympic travelled north on a Thursday night for a re-arranged fixture. Robbie Hebson (inset) was on target that night – his first goal in the NPL. And the most recent home success was in 2009 when Andy Cook (pictured) scored a 92nd minute winner against bottom Club Hucknall Town in a Conference North fixture.
