by john walsh

Last updated at 12:27, Monday, 23 August 2010

Eastwood Town 0 Workington Reds 2: Three games into the new season and Workington are still helping to set the pace out at the top of Blue Square Bet North.

Shaun Vipond

They share the lead with Boston, Telford and Alfreton after all four of them scored away wins – their third victories to maintain 100 per cent records.

All four of them have home matches on Tuesday night with the opportunity to extend their winning sequences.

For the Reds, today’s win at Coronation Park was deserved in the end but early in the game Eastwood looked the most likely and only some poor finishing prevented them from establishing an advantage.

Lindon Meikle, lively from the start, blazed the best chance of all wide of the target from the six yard line on only six minutes after Workington had struggled to clear the first corner of the game.

Then two minutes later he got on the end of a long, bouncing ball into the heart of the Workington defence but directed his header wide with Aaran Taylor at full stretch.

Meikle again, with a shot which went just wide with Taylor scrambling across, could have embarrassed the Reds on the quarter hour mark.

Gradually Reds started to get a foothold in the game and twice Jonny Wright got in shots from the edge of the area – one flashed just wide while the other was palmed behind by goalkeeper John Danby.

Kyle May headed just over the bar when he leapt highest to reach a Shaun Vipond corner and Phil McLuckie headed wide when he got on the end of deep cross from Gareth Arnison.

It was an open, mostly entertaining game and after the opening scares, Workington had started to get to grips with the contest.

Yet before half-time Taylor had twice to come to his side’s rescue. Meikle skipped past Alex White out on the left and laid the perfect square ball for Matt Rhead to run onto and fire at goal.

He didn’t really get enough on it and the Workington keeper went down comfortably to save.

But Taylor did well in the closing minutes of the half when ex-Hull City defender John Leonard marked his debut with a thundering drive from 35 yards which Taylor did well to turn over.

Workington had generally defended well when they needed to and within three minutes of the restart had something to hold onto.

White knocked one of his trademark left foot cross field clearances to Arnison out on the right. He played the ball in to Jonny Wright who did really well to hold-up the ball, turn a defender and then slip an inviting pass into the path of Vipond.

From ten yards his shot took a deflection off a home defender on its way beyond Danby into the net.

Jonny Wright poked just wide when he stretched to get onto a header from Anthony Wright and there was more zip now about Workington’s general play.

When Eastwood did make occasional forays deep into the Workington half it was Meikle again who offered most threat. He got on the end of a fine cross from Andy Todd only to flick a header just over the top.

There was relief in the Workington ranks when Meikle was surprisingly withdrawn after 65 minutes and the home side never seriously looked like disrupting the Reds defence after his departure.

Taylor did distinguish himself with two important punched clearances under pressure but with May in particular resilient mood at the heart of the defence – earning a gashed eye for his pains – there was no way through.

The crucial two-goal cushion came on 75 minutes, again from the boot of Vipond.

He curled over a free-kick from the left hand side which cleared the defence and left Danby stranded, eventually finding a resting place in the far corner of the net.

The one chance that came along after that went to Workington. Substitute Matty Tymon did well out on the left to play-in skipper Dave Hewson but with just Danby to beat he curled his shot wide.

A miserable afternoon for Eastwood, in which they suffered their third straight defeat, was completed in stoppage time when Todd was shown a straight red card for a punch on Reds’ sub Stephen Hindmarch.

Workington’s 11-match unbeaten run, which catapulted them into last season’s play-offs, had started at Eastwood. That League run, overlapping the two campaigns, now stands at 14 games with unbelievably nine straight away victories.

This was the toughest game so far for the west Cumbrians, and after a rather hesitant start, they came through it with the record intact. Next-up on Tuesday are Harrogate at Borough Park.

Star man: Shaun Vipond – Two goals won the game but his industry around the pitch underlined what a key player he is going to be this season.

Workington Reds: Taylor, Langford, Rowntree, May, White, Vipond, McLuckie, Hewson, J. Wright, Arnison (Tymon 88), A. Wright (Hindmarch 65). Subs (not used) Tinnion, Main, Andrews.

Crowd: 404

Referee: Mick Bell, Rotherham

First published at 11:28, Monday, 23 August 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk