MATCH REPORT: Workington AFC 2-0 Stocksbridge Park Steels
- Mar 15
- 2 min read
If anything was going to get the better of Workington in yet another important fixture at the foot of the table, it was their own state of mind.
Visibly nervous for the first forty-five minutes, they shook off the anxiety after the break and, for the first time in a decade, recorded a fourth successive league win at home without conceding a goal.
But it might have been a different scenario had Steels capitalised on a good first half performance, as both teams came to terms with a testing bumpy pitch.
Steels quickly settled and Marcus Etherington almost gave them an early lead – not once but twice. He arrived unmarked at the far post to meet a well flighted free-kick but a fine reflex-save from Alex Mitchell deflected the ball over the bar.
He again found space in Steels’ next attack but didn’t make a good enough connection with the ball and Mitchell gathered the ball safely.
The visitors did get the ball in the net but only after an assistant referee’s flag interrupted play.
Workington gradually came into the game and Jack Dickinson’s powerful header was cleared off the line by the versatile Etherington.
And in the next attack Luke Hunter’s cross appeared to strike the arm of Connor Smythe and, perhaps harshly, the referee pointed to the spot. Hunter, after a long delay, took the penalty but Ben Townsend dived to his left and comfortably smothered the ball.
It was Reds’ first blunder from the spot in eight attempts but would it prove costly?
Well, the eventual answer was no because Hunter atoned for his miss with a fine goal near the end to complete a hard-fought victory.
The tension eased soon after the restart when Jack Dickinson ventured into the box for a corner, adding his aerial prowess to a set-piece routine. But when Stocksbridge could only partially clear the danger, Dickinson lashed home the loose ball with his less favoured right foot.
But Workington couldn’t carve out that all important second goal and needed some dogged defending from Steven Swinglehurst & Co. And Mitchell made another important stop after Steels added further attacking players from the bench.
Luke Ellis had a chance to double Reds’ advantage when he was put through on goal via a Jake Allan assist. His low shot appeared to be heading for the bottom corner but Townsend’s outstretched leg deflected the ball for a corner.
The second goal did come, though, albeit late in the day. Ceiran Casson’s slide-rule pass opened up the Steels defence and Hunter guided the ball into the net in one instinctive movement.
Manager Barr wasn’t in charge when Reds won in South Yorkshire in November, but completing a deserved league double over Steels has lifted the Cumbrians off the foot of the table for the first time since September.
Workington: Mitchell, Casson, Dickinson, Whitehall, Little, Swinglehurst, Allan (Stephenson, 80), Carroll, Hunter (Palmer, 90), Ellis (Symington, 86), Hopper (Galloway, 74). Substitute – Leslie (not used).
Stocksbridge Park Steels: Townsend, Etherington, Smythe (Tinker, 73), Hogg (Kay, 63), Williams, Iggulden, Poole (Musgrave-Dore, 58), O’Connor, Rawson, Morris (Malumo, 81), Marshall. Substitute – Lemon (not used).
Referee: Ethan Murray, Clitheroe
Bookings: Casson, Dickinson, Allan (Workington), Hogg, Morris (Stocksbridge Park Steels).
Attendance: 940
