By John Fuller

Last updated at 11:12, Monday, 03 May 2010

Alfreton Town 3 Workington Reds 1 (agg 4-1): Workington Reds’ season ended in heartache as they crashed out of the play-offs at the hands of Alfreton.

Workington's Andrew Langford, left, keeps his eye on the ball

The Borough Park club already faced a mammoth task as they headed into the second leg of the semi-final a goal down from the first leg.

Confidence was high in the camp as Reds headed into the game on the back of a seven game winning streak away from home.

Their confidence was evident for all to see as they bossed the opening exchanges. There was a renewed optimism about the way they approached the tie but more importantly they were able to capitalise.

It took just 13 minutes for Reds to wipe away Alfreton’s advantage when top-scorer Gareth Arnison headed from Shaun Vipond’s free kick.

Phil McLuckie, who was asked to operate a left wing slot, won the kick after being bundled to the floor by a clumsy Jake Moult.

Vipond’s vicious in-swinging kick flicked off Arnison’s head and nestled into the corner to the delight of the travelling army of Reds fans behind the goal.

Boss Darren Edmondson decided to stick with the same starting 11 that went down to Liam Hearn’s goal at Borough Park but instead of playing a 4-5-1 formation he switched to a 4-4-2 in a bid to put more pressure on the Alfreton back line.

They started the match full of vigour, running hard and passing well and it was their confident approach to the match that led to the opening goal.

But despite all their dominance they were unable to push on and get a decisive second.

McLuckie got into a great position in the middle of the goal but his stabbed shot was weak and easy for Ross Turner to collect.

David Hewson, who has scored in both of Reds’ last two play-off campaigns, was then hauled to the floor by Chris Shaw inside the penalty box.

The crowd screamed for a penalty but the referee not only waved away their protests but gave Alfreton a free-kick.

It was a decision that frustrated manager Darren Edmondson who was adamant that the spot kick should have been given.

Alfreton got more into the game as the first half went on and they were handed a lifeline when Anton Brown was brought down just outside the box.

Veteran shot-stopper Tony Caig lined up his wall with precision but Ian Ross curled it over and into the far corner to level the game but crucially take Alfreton in front overall.

Half-time came at the right time for Workington. They were beginning to let Alfreton get a grip on the tie.

It allowed Edmondson to rally his players but those words went out of the window within two minutes of the restart as Alfreton took the lead through the prolific Paul Clayton.

The hit man latched onto Lee Andrews’ poor back header, knocked it past Caig and headed into an empty net.

The goal sparked wild celebrations from the Alfreton management as they knew the tie was turning in their favour.

Alfreton dominated the remainder of the game and had chances to extend their lead but both Clayton and Hearn both clattered the bar.

Reds had chances of their own but the final ball let them down.

McLuckie and Andrews came close to getting on the end of dead balls but on each occasion they arrived too late and the chance had gone.

Arnison was looking lively down the left and after tricking his way past two defenders his cross was nodded into the side-netting by Wright.

The Workington lads never stopped trying to get back into the game but the more they pushed on the easier it was for Alfreton to hit them on the break.

And it was a break away goal that settled the tie on 87 minutes when Clayton bagged his second goal of the game after good work from Hearn.

Hearn broke down the left and a simple ball into the centre caught Reds napping and Clayton kept his composure to fire Alfreton into the final.

TONY CAIG - The free kick beat him on his side of the goal but he couldn’t do anything to stop Alfreton winning through in the end.

ANDY LANGFORD - Struggled at times against the pace of Hearn but did support the Reds attacks.

GARI ROWNTREE - Unlucky that some of his set pieces didn’t lead to goals.

KYLE MAY - Dealt with Hearn and Clayton and ended up playing up front in a bid to turn the game.

LEE ANDREWS - At fault for Alfreton’s second goal. Not his best game.

SHAUN VIPOND - Set up Reds goal and battled hard in midfield.

PHIL MCLUCKIE - Worked tirelessly down the left flank and covered a lot of ground.

TONY HOPPER - Shielded the defence well but didn’t influence the game as much.

JONNY WRIGHT - ran the line and never gave up. Unlucky with his second half header.

GARETH ARNISON - Great goal and looked much more lively than the first game.

DAVID HEWSON - Should have been awarded a penalty and put in some nice crosses from the right.

Subs: Hindmarch (for Hewson 59); Shannon (for Hopper 70);

Subs not used: Tinnion, Ruttledge, Taylor.

Attendance: 1575

Referee: S Ledger

First published at 09:14, Monday, 03 May 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk