Whitby began the day on the front foot, lying in second place in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier, but ended it all shook up at the hands of their hosts who leapfrogged over them.
Reds built on a two-goal lead in the first half to leave their opponents shell-shocked in the second after a superb all-round showing to run out 4-0 winners.
Whitby attacked well in the first half, but despite their best efforts, they rarely troubled Aaran Taylor in the Workington goal.
And, at the opposite end, Reds created a variety of chances and put four away to lay down a marker to the rest of the league.
The pitch was boggy and it made the task ahead for both teams harder, but Reds stood up to it well.
Chances came in the opening minutes for Reds as first Jack Ryan fired wide and then Conor Tinnion forced a save from Shane Bland.
Tinnion advanced again down the left flank and got in a good cross searching for the head of Dave Symington, who just couldn’t reach it.
But the ball did not go out of play and it was whipped back in, this time Scott Allison did get a touch, but it was not enough and Whitby cleared.
It wasn’t the best clearance and the ball only came out as far as the waiting Rob Wilson, who is getting into the habit of scoring from this distance.
And he didn’t disappoint as he took aim and slotted the ball past the keeper for an early lead.
Whitby began to come into the game and proved why they are challenging for promotion as they put some pressure on their hosts.
And their first real chance fell to former Reds striker Matty Tymon but his shot sailed wide of the post.
The game went from end to end as Kyle May had a chance in a goal-mouth scramble, but again, Whitby managed to clear the ball.
Then, Callum Martin beat Gari Rowntree in the sticky conditions and got a good cross in but Jake Simpson managed to clear.
Whitby won a corner, which was met by Luke Bythway, who just headed wide and Reds continued to find themselves under pressure as Steven Snaith and Luke Bythway both forced good blocks from the home defence.
But Reds came back and Symington’s dangerous cross found Jack Ryan. He controlled the ball well before linking up with Tinnion on the edge of the area but his shot was well saved.
Reds were struck by a blow after 30 minutes when James Earl limped from the field to be replaced by Anthony Wright.
And, as play restarted, Callum Martin tried his luck from distance but it fell into the waiting arms of Taylor.
It was Reds who scored a vital goal before half time. Allison exchanged passes with Ryan before slotting a shot home past Bland.
The home side escaped by the skin of their teeth seconds later as David Carson shot off the deck and it just trickled past the far post.
It should have been 3-0 in the opening minutes of the second half as Simpson dispossessed Callum Martin on the half-way line and then put in a superb cross to Ryan.
But Ryan, with the goalkeeper bearing down on him, shot wide.
This was just the start of a dominant period for Reds. Tinnion broke down the centre before feeding Allison who, in turn, found Symington in space and his curling shot just clipped the post.
Symington took on the Whitby defence again before feeding the supporting Simpson, who got a shot in, forcing a block from the keeper.
Then, Ryan had a shot from the edge of the area, and as Allison followed it up, he forced a save from the keeper but the flag was already up for offside.
The game slowed down from the frantic opening and a few niggles crept in, Snaith being handed a yellow card for a late challenge on Josh Calvert.
But, in the last few minutes, Workington sealed the win in style.
The third goal came in the 77th minute. A great ball from Ryan found Allison in space and he hammered it home for 3-0.
Tinnion nearly made it four as he took on the keeper, who just got down to make the save.
But then super-sub Sam Joel marked his home debut with a goal. He created the winner in his short spell on the pitch last week and this week netted himself.
Joel beat a stranded keeper and managed to keep his feet and slot the ball in between the two defenders who scrambled back in the 90th minute.
It was a commanding performance and another vital win that puts Reds in the driving seat for the play-off race.
Now comes the tough part, keeping up the consistency to stay there.
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