MATCH REPORT: Workington AFC 3-2 Leek Town
- 16 hours ago
- 3 min read
Workington supporters have come to expect nerve shredding afternoons and plenty of finger nail biting, and this entertaining encounter was just another day at ‘the office’ where the blood pressure reading went up and down the scale.
A rare, comfortable victory looked on the cards just before the hour mark but ‘straightforward’ is not in the Workington DNA and two Jack Griffiths goals ramped up the tension late in the day.
Going into the game without five regulars and new recruit, Joe Grayson, most Reds fans would have accepted a point beforehand, given the lack of choice over selection.
But had Leek salvaged a draw, it would have been a tough one to take after the hosts had established what appeared to be an unassailable three goal lead.
Luke Hunter emerged as one ‘man-of-the-match’ contender, not just for his two valuable goals but his defensive duties too, but three or four others put in top performances as Reds registered a third successive league win.
Hunter’s opener after three minutes was the perfect start and owed much to makeshift number 3, Kai Nugent. He carried the ball down the left before curling a teasing cross into the danger zone where Hunter pounced to net his first of the afternoon.
Leek play a good brand of football, move the ball about well and stretch the shape somewhat. But Reds defended well in the first half and restricted them to a firm Alex Panter header and a Hayden Campbell shot which Alex Mitchell comfortably dealt with.
Campbell, the scorer of that historic final goal at Borough Park, was lively throughout but well marshalled by Douglas, Barnes and Co!
Having benefitted from an early goal in the first half, Workington repeated the scenario soon after the restart and it was a red-letter day for Charlie Barnes who blasted home his first goal for the club, from close range, in the forty-eighth minute.
Leek were unable to clear their lines and a fortunate deflection took the ball towards Barnes who gleefully doubled the advantage.
The third goal was similar four minutes later, with Hunter alert to another deflection, to convert at the far post. It had been a sloppy start to the second half from the visitors but they recovered and certainly made a game of it.
Griffiths reduced the arrears when he netted the fourth goal of the afternoon and, without a clean sheet since March, we knew what to expect.
He bagged a second after seventy-five minutes prompting ‘squeaky-bum’ time, this one a left-footed finish following the first with his right.
Reds had chances to ease the tension, the best of which was a Brennan Dickenson wonder strike which had Kornel Miscuir beaten only for the ball to rattle the crossbar.
But it needed Mitchell to produce a last-gasp double save to prevent a Town leveller otherwise the Staffordshire outfit would have spoiled our day once again.
The experienced members of the squad were crucial but let’s not forget a pleasing full debut from Simon Rigby and important contributions from two other teenagers, Alfie McDonough and Ted Thomson.
Workington: Mitchell, Casson, Nugent, Rigby (Thomson, 90), Douglas, Barnes, Stephenson (Palmer, 87), Carroll, Dickenson, Hopper (McDonough, 73), Hunter. Substitutes – Routledge, Andrews (not used).
Leek Town: Miscuir, Buckley (Shenton, 68), Bickerton (Stafford, 56), Hockenhull, Edwards (Friars, 82), Heywood, Griffiths, Reeves, Panter (Emmerson, 52), Campbell, Weir. Substitute – Towns (not used).
Referee: Callum Hayes, Leyland
Bookings: Rigby, Carroll (Workington)
Attendance: 953
