Dav calls it a day
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
It’s the day every footballer dreads, yet it comes to all eventually – retirement.
And although it is slightly better if the end is on your terms, to finish because of injury normally means such an announcement is being made earlier than planned.
David Symington has come to the decision that has probably haunted him for the past six months and it is the bombshell all Reds’ supporters have feared.
Our talismanic number 7 has announced that he is going to hang up those prolific boots after ten seasons as a Workington player. The former skipper, 32 next January, has decided that the injury which kept him sidelined for much of last season is proving a step too far in terms of recovery and, reluctantly, he has called it a day.
Dav originally played for Reds on loan from Carlisle United during the 2014-15 season but was injured on his debut.
He eventually became a Workington player at the start of the 2016-17 campaign and has made 296 appearances (plus 54 further outings as a substitute) and scored 113 goals over the last ten seasons.
He has been top scorer on several occasions with the ‘23-24 campaign his best return with 26 goals, all but two in the NPL Premier Division. He was short-listed for the League ‘Player of the Year’ award but the accolade went elsewhere.
Dav has scored hat-tricks against Newcastle Town and Mickleover Sports but his finest afternoon was netting four in a 5-0 Borough Park win against Witton Albion three years ago.
His 100th goal for the club was netted against Whitby Town in 2024 and the vast majority of his portfolio of goals fall into the spectacular category. In addition to the 113 competitive goals he has netted for Reds, a further 19 have been scored in friendly matches.
Skipper on sixty-eight occasions, Dav has landed both players’ and supporters’ Player of the Year trophies and was named in the hypothetical NPL West Division ‘team of the year’ in 2023.
