In a remarkable West Lancashire League game at the County Ground Whitehaven came from 3-0 down to beat Turton 5-3.
As head coach Carl Short said afterwards: “Where do I start? It was a crazy, crazy game but that’s the beauty of football at all levels.”
Whitehaven had started surprisingly sluggish which was disappointing following two positive results with points gained from away draws.
This was quickly punished by a young, enthusiastic Turton side who inside the first 30 minutes had built a 3-0 lead.
A missed penalty only added to the misery but the one positive was another goal for young forward Carl Denvir who has scored in back-to-back games now.
Haven changed formation for the second-half and made a quicker start, which enabled them to turn the screw. A superb piece of possession in a wide area prompted the fight-back in earnest as Kian Goulding scored the second goal.
Then enter stage left Owen Woodburn. Introduced from the bench with 25 minutes left he changed the game completely, completing a fine hat-trick from the penalty spot in the second minute of stoppage time.
He had grabbed his three goals inside 12 minutes to earn Whitehaven their first win of the season.
Coach Short said: “We were there for the beating at half-time as Turton fully deserved their lead and we were really poor.
“However the second-half was the type of performance we have been building towards.
“We had started the game with one or two lads upset and disappointed not to be playing, and that’s what we love about this squad. They all want to play and will be here week in and week out.
“We know this League well and it all comes down to your squad, not your starting 11.
“In fact this time we brought on Tom Powell and Owen Woodburn and they completely changed the game for us. Tom controlled the tempo while Woody went on to score a near-perfect hat-trick.
“It’s a long season and everyone is going to get their chance and opportunity. Now we prepare for the clash of the local rivals on Tuesday against Cleator Moor Celtic.”
