Whitehaven picked up their first win of the season last night when they beat local rivals Cleator Moor Celtic 5-1 at the County Ground.
This West Lancashire League Premier Division clash proved to be a fiery affair with Celtic having a player sent-off in each half.
They also had a player dispatched to the sin bin in the first-half.
Celtic manager Gareth Agnew was absent on the night and would certainly have been unhappy with what occurred.
Robbie Swinburn put Whitehaven ahead from the penalty spot after 10 minutes.
Celtic hit back two minutes later when Adam Smith put them level, but by half-time the home side had opened up a 4-1 lead.
Aiden Smith (27), Swinburn (32) and Kian Goulding (42) virtually killed off Celtic’s hopes.
The fact that they had Adam Smith sent off and Reece Singleton sin-binned didn’t help their cause.
After such an action-packed first-half things quietened down and Swinburn’s hat-trick strike was the only additional goal, although Celtic did have Owen Charlton sent off.
In fact they played better with nine men in the second half. They could have scored a second but substitute Josh Palmer had a penalty saved.
In the end the Whitehaven win was a triumph for discipline over ill-discipline.
Below you can hear what Jon Karl Benson thought of the Whitehaven performance:
There’s also a very honest Celtic view from the league’s secretary of the year Herbert Briggs:
Win for Millom
The South Cumbrian derby was a less volatile affair but the 2-1 win for Millom put them level top with Eagley.
They are second on goal difference (+ 8 to + 4) and this was their third win in as many away games.
Hosts Milnthorpe Corinthians were suffering their sixth successive defeat and are the only side in the Premier Division without a point.
Millom had started really well, dominating possession and causing Corinthians lots of problems.
Their first goal came on 32 minutes when centre back Chris O’Brien headed home a cross.
But they were unable to add to that lead and a defensive mix-up allowed Johnny Voortman to level for the home side after an hour.
Milnthorpe worked hard to stay in the contest for their first point but Millom grabbed the winner eight minutes from time by their other centre-back Jordan Williams.
Manager Dave Allan said: “It’s not easy to make a fast start after lads have been working and then travelling to play, but we did last night and completely dominated the first-half.
“We moved the ball around well and worked hard to get it back when we lost possession.
“Milnthorpe tried hard in the second half and a mix-up over communication saw two of our players collide and they got in for the equaliser.
“We responded well, still playing some good stuff and deservedly got the winner, another header from our other centre back.
“I was really pleased with how we performed and kept going for the winner.”
