Workington Town Women are still searching for their first points of the season after a late winner by hosts Accrington Stanley.
Niamh Corrigan secured the points for the home side with the goal which earned a 3-2 victory.
Town faced a strong wind and heavy rain in the first half and looked on course to keep Accrington at bay as the game approached half time.
However, with only two minutes remaining, Ocean Flanagan stepped up with a stunning strike from 25 yards out to give the home side the half-time advantage.
This was scant reward for the visitors who had battled well and arguably passed the ball about with better connections and a good intensity than Stanley.
Town’s keeper, Laura Miller, had been called into action early on in the game when an Accrington attacker had broken the line and closed in on goal.
Miller reacted well to leave her line and close in before saving well to deny the home side. Miller was called in to action on a few other occasions from distance, but good positioning and due diligence enabled her to collect comfortably.
The second half was only two minutes old when Chloe Henderson levelled the game with a stunning strike from 35 yards out.
In doing so she ensured her name is further cemented in the clubs history by becoming the first competitive goal scorer for the newly named Workington Town Women FC after drawing blanks in their first two games.
Town’s front line was applying good pressure on the home defence and had gained good possession at the edge of the Stanley penalty area.
Olivia Paice had secured possession before picking out Henderson in support and connecting with the midfielder. Collecting 35 yards out and on the right touch line, Henderson was quick to set herself and then hit a stunning strike to find the far top corner, leaving keeper Justine Elliott helpless.
Accrington struck back within 90 seconds to regain the lead with Flanagan hurting Town for a second time as she pounced on a loose ball in the middle before driving to the edge of the area and lifting a strike into the far corner.
Town hit back 15 minutes later when Sarah Smith found the back of the net and levelled the game at two goals apiece after a ball delivered in from the right by Linzi Donaldson.
The home defence was slow to react and Henderson was on hand to nudge the ball on to Smith in space. She composed herself before slotting the ball home.
Chances to take the lead had fallen to both teams, notably a driven ball across the crowded six yard box by Bea Barber being unlucky to have evaded onlookers and not have been turned home.
Two further strikes from Henderson had worked Elliott in the first instance and narrowly travelled wide in the second.
With less than five minutes remaining, the visitors were dealt a cruel blow as a breakaway goal resulted in Corrigan poking the ball home and in doing so, ensuring that all three points were Stanley’s.
Laura Miller was awarded the Player of the Game award for Town after a solid display between the posts over the 90 minutes.
This was the third away game on the spin for the Town Women and with a trip to Morecambe to come today they will have played four games in 11 days.
Support from their newly formed reserve team has already proven valuable, with twins Kate and Sophie Corlett joining Ella O’Nions in the travelling squad at Accrington and Layney Nicholson also featuring at Bolton last week.
After the game, captain Naomi Foster said: “It has been really good to have been able to draw on the talent in our Reserve Team over the past three games.
“We have had a lot of players unavailable through personal circumstances and the early and heavily loaded start to the season has meant we have needed to request their support.
“All four players have come in and contributed. I’m certain that the experience of being around the first team will have been extremely valuable to them in their development.
“This won’t be the last time we see them or other players from their team making the step up and going on to make themselves regular first team players in time.”
After the Morecambe game, attention will turn to this Sunday’s Adobe Women’s FA Cup game against Gateshead Ladies at the Fibrus Community Stadium.
This will also mark the first home outing since their name change and the club is looking for as much support as possible.
