A number of our non-league clubs are on recovery missions, but certainly not Workington or Kendal Town.
The Reds start the FA Cup trail with a home game against Hebburn Town, five days after they beat the North East side 2-1 in the NPL Premier Division.
Kendal Town couldn’t be in better shape for their Northern League trip to West Auckland after Tuesday’s remarkable 8-1 win at Penrith.
Mark Fell, the Workington manager, said: “It was great to get our first win at Borough Park in front of an 800-plus crowd.
“I thought they played a big part in getting us over the winning line and they can be a 12th man for us going forward in League and Cup.
“I haven’t a particularly good record in the FA Cup and I know the club is overdue a run so we are looking to make progress and go as far as possible.”
Things got a bit feisty towards the end of Monday’s League game with Robbie Spence sent off for a second yellow after a foul on Kai Nugent.
He will be available for tomorrow’s rematch and Reds will also have skipper Dav Symington back after his two-match absence.
Kendal Town travel to West Auckland in the Northern League in a great frame of mind after that emphatic win at Frenchfield when they scored seven second-half goals.
“I honestly feel that has been coming the way we have been playing at times without the end product we deserved,” said manager Jimmy Marshall.
Mind you, West Auckland will be in a similar frame of mind as they were 6-0 winners at Whickham in mid-week to go sixth in the table.
The big question for Penrith boss Darren Edmondson is if his side can respond positively in their follow-up game.
They are back at Frenchfield against Northallerton Town who have certainly shown improvement since last season when they were among the strugglers.
In mid-week they had a 2-0 home win over North Shields to go 11th, only two places and a point behind Penrith in the Division One table, but from a game more.
Penrith would be shellshocked after Tuesday’s collapse, going in at half-time all square at 1-1 to lose 8-1 is a collapse of monumental proportions. Certainly Edmondson, not to mention the Penrith fans, will expect a strong reaction.
Carlisle City are still the highest-ranked Cumbrian side in the table at 7th and they don’t play tomorrow.
He has organised a training session tonight when his no-nonsense, body-on-the-line message to his defenders will be the main theme.
Kirkup is hoping to have his former defensive partner Tyler Bowman cleared to return to the team for Tuesday’s trip to Whickham. Bowman had last played for Gretna, hence the need for international clearance.
In the Wearside League Windscale also need to bounce back after a disappointing 4-4 home draw with Farringdon on Wednesday. Some sloppy defending also undid the Atoms so manager Stephen Fawcett might like to compare notes with Dan Kirkup at Carlisle City.
Windscale, though, are still very much in the mix – fourth in the table but just two points behind leaders South Moor from the same number of games.
But tomorrow’s hosts Annfield Plain have only played three League games so far when most have played seven or eight, so it’s a bit of a trip into the unknown.
In the West Lancashire League Whitehaven coach Carl Short steps-up to the role of manager after Jon-Karl Benson stepped down at the week-end.
It’s a tough-looking baptism for Short and his Whitehaven side who lie next to bottom. They visit CMB who just missed out on the title last season.
However, they haven’t started as strongly and lying seventh in the table have lost three times so far with a minus five goal difference. They only lost four all season in 2023/24 when they were beaten to the title by a point and had a goal difference of plus 63.
It’s only goal difference which separates Whitehaven from neighbours Cleator Moor Celtic who are third bottom.
Celtic recently beat Whitehaven 2-0 and tomorrow take on a Poulton side who have started well this time round and are sixth in the table, one place better than CMB.
Last season they finished 11th, two places and four points behind Celtic who are under new manager Gareth Agnew this time round.
