MATCH REPORT: Workington AFC 2-2 Guiseley AFC
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Skipper Matty Douglas got Reds back on track after they looked hopelessly lost in a disjointed first half.
Reds were lucky to be only two goals in arrears at the break, but a much-improved display in the second saw them salvage the game, grabbing their first goals and point of the season in the process.
Douglas made a vital clearance at the end of the first half to prevent Amir Berchil netting a third goal. Had that gone in, it would have been all over.
And it was Douglas who became the first Workington player to score a league goal at our temporary new home, mid-way through the second half, to inspire the comeback.
The first half saw Guiseley dominate with ease in an embarrassingly one-sided contest. So, to rescue a point from such a low ebb has to be a positive.
The visitors opened the scoring after seventeen minutes when Aaron Martin took advantage of the time, space and lack of a physical challenge to head home Jay Rollins assist.
Both players had already gone close prior to combining for the opener, Alex Mitchell saving an earlier Rollins chance and Martin heading over the bar from a central position.
Reds’ response was tepid, Jack Dickinson heading well wide via Kai Nugent’s free-kick.
And a third successive defeat looked on the cards when the hosts fell further behind after thirty-two minutes. Nugent was adjudged to have tripped Berchil, and the referee awarded a penalty which Cameron Wilson, probably the best player throughout the first half, converted confidently.
There was isolated involvement for Guiseley ‘keeper, Jack Hall, when he routinely gathered a weak Brennan Dickenson shot who, later, sent a free kick over the bar.
The Yorkshire outfit were close to netting a third when Elliot Owen’s close-range header rebounded off the post, after Reds had been undone by Adam Lund’s long throw.
Workington started the second half with more purpose, although a two-goal deficit looked more than a challenge.
Better use of the ball, a greater intensity and a tad more urgency boosted morale amongst the frustrated supporters but an early shout for a hand ball in the Guiseley area and a weak Luke Hunter shot was all they could muster.
That all changed after sixty-eight minutes when Douglas found space in the area, had time to adjust his feet before sending a low left-footed shot across Hall and into the far corner of the net.
A goal we had all been waiting for.
And one became two as Luke Hunter netted an equaliser with less than five minutes of normal time remaining. He manoeuvred into a shooting position but didn’t get a clean strike on the ball yet, somehow, it found a way past Hall and trickled over the line.
There was still time for more drama as Guiseley’s rearguard went into panic mode. Dan Hopper appeared to be tripped, pushed or simply blew over and the referee awarded a second spot-kick, probably more innocuous than the first.
Hunter grabbed the ball but a poor penalty was kept out by Hall, to the frustration of the majority and relief to those that had travelled from Leeds.
To have been out of the contest at half time, and then within a kick of winning it at the death to having to settle for a point epitomises the season so far – good, bad and indifferent!
Workington: Mitchell, Barnes, Leslie (Hopper, 85), Casson, Douglas, Dickinson, Stephenson (Allan, 68), Whitehall (Carroll, 64), Dickenson, Nugent (Ellis, 64), Hunter. Substitute – Rigby (not used).
Guiseley: Hall, Odunston, Tinker, Lund, Owen, Mbeka, Rollins, Staniland (White, 90), Martin, Wilson (Hopper, 63), Berchil (Thewlis, 46). Substitutes – Iggulden, Boyle (not used).
Referee: Joe Hind, Preston
Bookings: Casson, Ellis (Workington), Rollins, Martin (Guiseley)
Attendance: 852
