By John Fuller

Last updated at 08:16, Tuesday, 24 March 2009

Workington Reds 1 Hinckley 3: Workington Reds could not break their Hinckley hoodoo and crashed to a 3-1 defeat on Saturday.

There have been 10 games between the two sides and Workington are yet to register a win against their Leicestershire opponents.

That run continued this weekend when goals from Adam Webster and a brace for Nigerian front man Chima Dozie settled the tie. Gareth Arnison scored for the home side but it wasn’t enough.

Reds boss Darren Edmondson decided against starting the experienced Tony Hopper and stuck with the same team that had drawn 0-0 with Stafford Rangers in midweek.

Striker Andy Cook partnered Jonny Wright up front with Arnison playing on the right of midfield.

Workington took a long time to get going and when they finally did start to play, they were already two goals down.

The home side went behind on 11 minutes when Hinckley were awarded a penalty. Defender Kyle May was adjudged to have hauled Dozie to the ground inside the box and referee Gordon Johnson pointed to the spot.

Webster stepped up and smashed his spot kick into the top left corner. Keeper Adam Collin guessed the right way but the power in the shot was too fierce.

Hinckley doubled their lead midway through the first half when they broke from the back. A sweeping move left them four on three with the Reds’ defence.

Dozie, making his first start, passed the ball to his strike partner Webster who raced into the penalty box, crossing the ball along the goal line leaving Dozie with the easiest finish from inside the six-yard box.

Reds pulled a goal back on 34 minutes when Gareth Arnison turned and shot past Chris MacKenzie.

Good work by Jonny Wright down the left wing, his cross was deep to Arnison who played a one-two with Phil McLuckie before firing the ball into the far corner.

Reds had chances to level before the break but Cook shot high over the ball after cutting in from the right touchline.

And Jonny Wright could have scored but MacKenzie got down well to snuff out the chance.

Keeper Collin had made good stops in the opening period from Andy Gooding, Webster and Dominic Roma.

Reds started the second half in the ascendancy and could have been level just three minutes in.

Cook controlled the ball and held up play before playing in Shaun Vipond, but he shot high and wide.

Vipond was making his last appearance for the Borough Park side as he now moves to Sweden next week.

On 52 minutes, Workington had a glorious chance to equalise when full-back Andy Langford played in Jonny Wright. The hitman raced clear of the defence but got caught in two minds. His indecision allowed Connor Franklin to get back and knock the ball out for a corner.

On the hour mark Edmondson took Jonny Wright off and replaced him with Andy Hardman. It was a sensible decision because Wright was already on a yellow card and beginning to get frustrated.

Workington dominated the second half, playing the majority of the game in Hinckley half.

But despite all their possession keeper MacKenzie had to do very little to do in Hinckley’s goal.

Vipond had a vicious shot blocked on 69 minutes. The ball fell to Arnison, who got to the byline but his cross was knocked out for a corner.

Reds continued to get down the side of the Hinckley defence but every ball cut back across found a defender, who booted the ball to safety.

The match was settled as a contest with 15 minutes left. Lee Andrews’ clearance was closed down by the lively Dozie, he raced through one-on-one with Collin and made no mistake, coolly slotting the ball home to seal the three points.

Workington almost pulled a goal back on 79 minutes but Arnison dragged his shot wide from the edge of the box.

Afterwards Edmondson admitted that his side had a bad day at the office.

He said: “We put in a lacklustre first half and paid for it. We gave them three goals and you can’t afford to do that.

“We weren’t at the races first half and huffed and puffed in the second half.

“Teams come here and play for a point. They sit back and make sure that they have bodies behind the ball.

“We like to play an open game but today we weren’t allowed to play that way.”

Star man: Gareth Arnison playing on the right of midfield was a threat all game. He scored once but could have had more. Arnison got down the line and put good balls into the box but unfortunately no-one got on the end of them.

Referee: Gordon Johnson

Workington: Collin, Langford, Rowntree, May, Andrews, McLuckie, Vipond, Arnison, J Wright (Hardman, 60), Cook, A Wright.Subs not used: Robinson, Hopper, Gordon, Edmondson

Attendance: 331

First published at 11:35, Monday, 23 March 2009
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk