Riding high after the Cumberland Cup semi final win over Carlisle United Ladies it was a return to league action for Workington Reds Ladies.
Traveling the short distance to Netherhall School Astro on Sunday, March 31 the Reds welcomed Burscough Dynamo to West Cumbria.
The early spring weather provided a still and sunny day, perfect conditions for what would be a high tempo game with both sides going at each other from the start.
Burscough had some early success down the Reds flank with quick passing and intricate flicks leaving the defenders scrambling the ball clear.
It was not all one direction though as Natalie Hooper and Sophie Birkett kept the visitors tracking back.
It was almost one-nil Reds as manager Brian Heywood showed he has depth to his squad as Megan Yarnold whipped a corner in for Hayley Bracken to head over.
The Burscough defence didn’t deal with the warning and it was soon one-nil as another Yarnold corner cracked the post rebounding to Hooper whos deflected shot ended with Rebecca Scott putting the ball into the net.
It could have been two-nil as Burscough failed to deal with Yarnold’s corner and Paige Johnstone almost profited as she hit the underside of the bar with the ball bouncing off the line.
The match continued back and forth with Mairead Kinsella breaking up play and Willow Gray, Leah Cottier, Naomi Foster and Scott mopping up at the back leaving Laura Miller with little work to do in the first half.
The second half carried on in the same vein as the first with both sides attacking the other from the start.
As the match progressed Burscough grew into the game and took control at times with the Reds defending with everything they had.
While the home team should have been two up as Bracken clattered the crossbar with a header from a corner and Hannah Geen forced the Burscough goalkeeper to scramble across her line to palm the ball away.
Even final substitute Leah Harrison provided energy and some nice touches to round off a great team performance with the scoreline staying at 1-0.
Next up for the Reds is the Argyle Sports Plate Semi Final against Stockport County Ladies on Sunday April 7 at Maryport Rugby League, kick off at 2pm.
