Workington Reds Ladies signed off their 2021/22 North West Women’s Regional Division One league campaign on a high.
They earned a 3-1 away win against local rivals Penrith in mid-week.
It was a contest which was competed in a spirit typical of all great derby games where hard work and the standard of football was commensurate in equal measures.
The result means that the Reds are unbeaten in the League against their county rivals having played four, won three and drawn one against neighbours Carlisle and Penrith.
Both teams were looking to gain the upper hand and momentum from the start and left back Natalie Hooper was in great form on the night.
Her anticipation resulted in numerous interceptions which meant Penrith failed to get any joy down their right.
This was complimented by the defensive support provided by left winger Hannah Geen who tracked back to double up with Hooper and contain the home side’s advances.
The pair didn’t stop there as they were also quick to turn defence in to attack and linked-up well to provide a real threat down the left.
It was the Reds Ladies who took the lead after 17 minutes.
Having won possession in midfield, Chloe Henderson fed the ball out to right back Eleanor McDonald inside their own half.
Then with great composure McDonald quickly fed the ball down the line to right winger Sophie Birkett.
Birkett and McDonald have linked up effectively all season and the ball was played at a speed between the pair in one and two touch football.
This efficient play opened up the right hand side and quickly found the creative Henderson in space on the right side of the Penrith penalty area. Henderson lobbed the ball over the defence to find Hayley Bracken who is back in form after a two-month injury lay-off.
She quickly collected the ball and before Penrith could react she lifted the ball over the keeper for the opening goal.
Penrith tried to hit back but the Reds mid-field pairing of Linzi Donaldson and Sophie Douglas worked tirelessly to frustrate the home side.
Reds also had the security of the centre back pair Naomi Foster and Holly Redmond and between the quartet they provided a solid barricade down the middle.
However, after 35 minutes the home side’s persistence paid-off as they broke through the lines and an attempt on goal from distance struck a defensive hand.
A free kick 30 yards out was taken by Hannah Coulthard and she struck the ball sweetly into the bottom corner of the net to level the game.
It stayed that way until the break but Penrith came out strong in the second half and for the first 10 minutes applied strong pressure on the Reds defence.
They couldn’t score, though, which was largely down to the brilliance of the Reds’ keeper Laura Miller who produced a high-quality display.
Helen Wagstaff was introduced off the bench after 55 minutes and she quickly found her stride and added great vision into the middle of the park.
This proved decisive on 60 minutes when a ball was squared to Wagstaff, whose 30-yard slide rule pass dissected two Penrith defenders.
It found Bracken running on the angle and timing her run to perfection to stay on side. She closed down the advancing Penrith keeper who attempted to clear the ball was made but Bracken was able to block the shot and collect the loose ball before slotting into an empty net.
The Reds extended their advantage two minutes later when Henderson became the provider for Bracken for the second time in the game.
Collecting the ball in the middle of the park, Henderson carried it purposely to the left dragging two defenders with her before feeding a diagonal pass centrally to Bracken who had held her position and had anticipated the ball being played in behind the line.
Bracken’s timing and keenness to attack paid off as she composed herself again in a one on one against the keeper and slotted the ball home to claim a well-deserved hat-trick.
Laura Ivison, Megan Yarnold, Sydney Bragg and Paige Johnstone were introduced in the final quarter in order to maintain the energy levels throughout the team and helped see the side through to a deserved victory.
Holly Redmond was awarded Player of the Game for the Reds for her commanding centre back performance.
Over the season the Reds ladies have played 22, won 11, drawn 3, lost 8, scoring 56 goals and conceding 43.
This has contributed to the Reds securing a top half of the table finish and their highest points total in the North West Women’s Regional Division One history.
Up next for the Ladies is their presentation night on the 13th May at Workington Legion, tickets are still available and details can be found on their Social Media sites.
Team manager Paul Mackenzie said: “We would like to thanks all of the sponsors that have supported us this year through various activities without this generosity we wouldn’t be able to provide the
platform to showcase Ladies football in West Cumbria.
“Thanks also to our parent club and its army of volunteers for the support that they have given this year.
“Also thank you to all of those that show their support to us via attendance at games and liking our Social Media sites.”
