Workington ended what has been a disastrous 2025 with another defeat, ending the year rooted to the foot of the NPL Premier Division.
In their first ever meeting against Cleethorpes Town, Reds went down 2-1 and are now without a win in seven and strong favourites to be relegated, and an unwanted return to Step 4 football.
They finished the game strongly, and were at their best in the final 30 minutes, but their best spell of the game masked a poor opening hour when they conceded twice and looked distinctly second best.
Their run of bad luck continued in north east Lincolnshire after their longest journey of the season.
The unfortunate Jake Allan sustained yet another injury after a collision with home keeper, Ollie Battersby, and was forced to retire with the game just a quarter of an hour old.
And his replacement, Greg McCaragher, inadvertently deflected the ball past Danny Eccles to give Cleethorpes a 28th minute lead.
Eccles seemed to have Brad Abbott’s weak shot covered until he was wrong-footed by the deflection and the ball ended up in the net.
Cleethorpes doubled their lead on the hour when Billy Whitehouse got in front of his marker to convert at the far post and, at that point, Reds looked down and out.
But they showed a bit of character and forced themselves back into the game.
Keelan Leslie’s first goal of the season sparked a revival of sorts when he headed home from close range in the 64th minute, having been introduced as a substitute just minutes earlier.
It prompted a good spell from the Cumbrians when their passing, running and crossing improved to finally cause a few problems for the home defence.
But they couldn’t add to Leslie’s goal which, by the finish, proved no more than a consolation.
Manager Billy Barr had drafted two loan recruits into the group prior to Christmas and both Brad Carroll and Ne-Jai Tucker were included in the starting 11.
Carroll actually took the captain’s arm band as he started his second spell with the club and, considering it was his first game in over three months, caught the eye with a dominant performance.
Tucker, meanwhile, struggled to make an impact and will need time to find his feet.
On appointing Carroll captain, during the absence of Steven Rigg and David Symington, manager Billy Barr paid tribute to the Bury midfielder.
“He is captain material, knows the club and some of the players and sets good standards to those around him. He is a natural leader and the sort of player we have been crying out for in recent weeks.”
Reds will have one training session ahead of their New Year’s Day derby against Lancaster City at Borough Park (3pm) but the manager thought Jake Allan would be unlikely to recover in time.
However, three of the other absentees should be available for Thursday’s fixture as Reds hope to avenge the August defeat at Lancaster.
Hear Billy Barr’s verdict below:
