MATCH REPORT: Workington AFC U23 8-0 Winstanley Warriors

Credit to the Wigan based Warriors for fulfilling the fixture on a Monday evening and doing so without several regulars.  They made a bright start and were technically very good throughout but, ultimately, were swept aside by a physically stronger Reds outfit.

They could have taken the lead with the game’s first attack but Joe Rumney intervened to avert what could have been an embarrassing start.

With a view to gaining match sharpness before the weekend, Josh Galloway and Steven Swinglehurst were handed their Lancashire League debuts as over-age players.

And it was Galloway who opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a fine goal.  Zach Martin’s diagonal ball released Dan Hill down the left and his inch-perfect cross was finished off by Galloway. 

Reds netted two more before the break with Harry McLinden and Josh Palmer getting on the score sheet.

McLinden finished well after being found by Rob Davidson’s precise through ball and Palmer scored after good work from Galloway on the right.

Harry McLinden

Tempers frayed just before the interval when Martin’s dangerous tackle on Jamie Derbyshire earned him a straight red.  The Warriors’ skipper, who had already been booked, retaliated, picked up a second yellow and was also sent off.

The second period must have been a long forty-five minutes for the visitors who were penned in their own half for long periods.

McLinden bagged his second with a close-range finish after fifty-nine minutes, following good centre forward play from Palmer.    

And Owen Johnston got in on the act five minutes later, hooking the ball home after Warriors’ ‘keeper, Jamie Michaelides mishandled the ball following a Reds’ corner.

There was no respite for the visitors and Palmer converted his second after another right-wing assist from Galloway.

And there was still time for a Zach Benson-Lester brace in the later stages.

Zach Benson-Lester

His first, a spectacular header after a fine Swinglehurst cross, exposed the gaps in Warriors defence with his second, a firm low shot from fifteen yards, created, once again, by Galloway.  

Workington: Rumney, Martin, Pickering, Johnston, Swinglehurst, Davidson, Galloway, Benson-Lester, Palmer, McLinden, Hill.  Substitutes – Cueto H, Brennan and Carney (all used).

Winstanley Warriors: Michaelides, Nwanko, Dias, Fazackerley, Lee, Derbyshire, Swarbrick, Dickson, Harwood, Kelly, Towns.  Substitutes – Ayomide, Saxon, Katuuo (all used).

Referee: Tony Whitfield, Carlisle

Bookings: Derbyshire, Michaelides (Winstanley Warriors)

Red cards: Martin (Workington), Derbyshire (Winstanley Warriors – two yellows)