‘An ugly way to win' - Barr praises Workington’s fighting spirit
Workington manager Billy Barr paid tribute to the resilience of his players following their remarkable 3-2 turnaround victory over Warrington Rylands at the Fibrus Community Stadium on Tuesday night.
It was the Reds’ maiden triumph at their new home and second victory in a row, lifting them up to 12th in the NPL Premier Division table.
Rylands midfielder Ben Hardcastle opened the scoring in the eighth minute before Harrison Wood doubled the visitors’ lead five minutes after the break - a bitter blow for the home side, given that Workington had an extra man following George Waring’s dismissal on the stroke of half-time.
But drawing on their previous home fixture against Guiseley, where they came from 2-0 down to finish 2-2, Workington went a step further to secure all three points and build on their growing momentum.
Kai Nugent halved the deficit in the 64th minute with a clinical finish into the far corner from Matthew Douglas’ cut-back, before Isaac Whitehall produced a moment of magic to register his first league goal for the club five minutes later.
His magnificent free-kick following a foul on Jake Allan beat goalkeeper Luke Pilling, putting Neil Reynolds’ Blues on the back foot.
It was then up to substitute Josh Palmer to rifle home at the back post late on to seal victory for the hosts, landing a telling blow upon last season’s beaten play-off finalists.
“I’m delighted for them as a group”, Barr said after the match.
“Because when you think back to last year, there’s good ways to win and there’s ugly ways to win. Tonight was an ugly way to win.
“It takes you back to Warrington [Town] last year, doesn’t it.”
Reflecting on the contribution of Whitehall - scorer of the second goal - in Tuesday’s victory, Barr was happy to watch the midfielder shine after some difficult moments at the club.
“A special goal, wasn’t it,” he added.
“And I thought he looked like himself tonight. We’ve been a bit critical of him; our fans have been critical of him as well.
“I had a chat with him last week just to try and clear his head. He opened up on a few things that obviously stay personal, but it relieved that pressure off him. I thought he was tremendous.”
Workington return to action on Saturday against Leek Town, who sit a point below them in 16th position in the table after squandering a 4-2 lead and were forced to share the spoils at Avro on Wednesday night.