MATCH REPORT: Quorn 3-0 Workington AFC
This first ever meeting with Leicestershire outfit Quorn was the proverbial ‘one game too far’ and a jaded-looking Reds crashed to a painful defeat.
But, having gone on an eight-match unbeaten league run and scoring in their last thirteen outings, there is enough credit in the bank to refrain from criticising an honest group of players.
We are all well aware of the mitigating circumstances – the unprecedented injury list, the recent heavy schedule and a five-hour journey on the back of successive Tuesday night away games, not to mention the unpredictable bounce on the 3G pitch – and this collective failure came as no surprise.
The challenge now is how they recover from what we hope is a minor blip in the next couple of games. A few weeks ago, we casually scanned the fixture list and hoped there were points to be had from the games against Quorn, Whitby and Bamber Bridge.
Now the landscape is a bit different and, because of those circumstances, the games on Tuesday and Saturday will prove every bit as difficult as the encounter at the Farley Way Stadium.
It is repeatedly stressed how important the first goal is and, on this occasion, Quorn’s opener proved the point. They went in front midway through the first half and were in control from thereon.
The lively Terell Pennant had made a bright start to the game and looked a threat every time he had the ball. So why did we make it so easy for him to score in the 25th minute? A mistake from us on the halfway line could have been rectified but Pennant was almost invited to score and he did – after cantering over fifty yards with the ball!
Quorn, without a win on their home patch, sensed this could be their day.
And, to be fair, it was. Once they grabbed their second from the evergreen Billy Kee in the seventy-fifth minute, the celebrations could begin.
Reds had failed to deal with a cross from the right and found themselves two down, although in truth, it could have been many more as the village side had squandered half a dozen chances.
It looked a tough ask to get back into the game when just a goal behind so it was effectively over for the Cumbrians when Kee netted.
Two other veterans also made telling contributions with Quorn player boss, Ryan Beswick and Workington skipper for the day, Brennan Dickenson, showing the levels that the many youngsters on display have to aspire to.
Dickenson has been in outstanding form recently but he got little or no help from his colleagues on this occasion and he, too, ran out of steam long before the end.
And a big pat on the back for forgotten hero, Steven Rigg, who helped solve the ‘lack of numbers’ crisis by playing his first NPL game since March. He was joined on the pitch by fellow substitute, Lee Andrews (43), as Billy Barr was forced to plug the gaps with seniors playing from memory.
Quorn duly wrapped up their first home win with a third goal in stoppage time with Jayden-Samuel Lawrence-Lowther the delighted scorer. Blue shirted defenders just didn’t defend and the substitute shaped up and sent a low left-footed strike beyond Danny Eccles to complete a disappointing afternoon for the below par Cumbrians.
As Barr honestly admitted, “Too many had an off day”.
Quorn: Laban, Tunstall, Source (Cox, 89), Reaney, Frizelle, Cook, Pennant (Lawrence-Lowther, 84), Edwards (Shaw, 71), Kee (Armson, 90), Beswick (Marshall, 90), Friend.
Workington: Eccles, Casson, Leslie (Ellis, 46), Rigby, Whitehall, Barnes, Jacobs (Andrews, 84), Thomson (Hopper, 50), Dickenson, Palmer (Rigg, 65), Hunter (Cueto, 70).
Referee: Alex Cotterill, Nottingham
Bookings: Frizelle, Edwards, Friend (Quorn), Casson, Whitehall, Barnes (Workington)
Attendance: 415
