Workington scored their first win of 2024 but should have been home and dry well before the end.
Veteran keeper Saul Deeney key Matlock in the contest with a string of saves in the second-half when the home side should have built on their 2-0 interval lead.
Then when the Gladiators struck in the 76th minute it made for a nervous watch for home fans as they had seen Reds twice give away two goal lead at home in recent weeks.
But they saw it through to what was a deserved 2-1 victory after they had dominated the game for over an hour and played some decent football in the process.
It would certainly have all been over long before Matlock’s goal had it not been for Deeney who made a series of excellent stops to keep his side in the contest.
The 40-year-old had once kept a clean sheet at Old Trafford playing for Burton Albion and although that wasn’t the case at Borough Park it might have been five or six but for him.
In the second-half he denied Sam Hetherington, Steven Rigg and Dav Symington with excellent stops while the hard-working Scott Allison fired over from a good position in a purple patch when they should easily have doubled their half-time advantage.
Allison had also hit the post in the first-half when they had dominated the game and were well worth their 2-0 interval lead.
Symington put them in front on ten minutes although his shot from angled position took a clear deflection to deceive Deeney.
Indeed there was a suggestion that all three scores in the game could have been put down to own goals.
Certainly the second, from a Workington corner on 35 minutes was claimed by Sam Smith but could also have been helped in by a Buxton defender.
Workington had twice given away 2-0 home leads to finish with draws in recent home games so that when Scott Boden (or was it Workington’s Cieran Casson) had pulled one back on 76 minutes there were some anxious “here we go again” moments from home supporters.
But when new signing Curtis Durose got through late on there was relief all round when a linesman’s flag was raised, although home keeper Jim Atkinson didn’t know that when he produced a good save.
In a very good team performance there were top displays all over the pitch but special mention to left-back Aran Fitzpatrick, on loan from Carlisle; centre back pair Smith and Jordan Little; the consistent Casson and hard-working pair up front Rigg and Allison.
