Thanks to David Foy for this report
NPL Division One North West
Brighouse Town 2-2 Workington
Brighouse earnt themselves a well deserved draw as Javelle Clarke poked home with the last kick of the game at the Yorkshire Payments Stadium.
The Orange Army opened the scoring in the twelfth minute thanks to an unstoppable volley from Midfielder Danny Racchi.
A Jack Boyle free kick from the outside left of the eighteen yard box deflected off The Reds’ wall which fell perfectly into Racchi’s path rifling the ball into the top left corner of James Atkinson’s goal.
With a win the unbeaten Cumbrians could have topped the Northern Premier Division One North West but an Orange Army that had conceded through dead ball situations and scrappy battles in their own box held resolutely. It came at a price as captain Kurt Harris following two clearances off the Town line was forced off injured in the twenty first minute replaced by fellow centre-back Joe Wilkinson. The armband passed to scorer Racchi in his absence.
Brighouse continued in the same vein as prior to the injury. Workington’s ‘build from the back’ gameplan saw them trying to play the football short from Atkinson into his defence but on the whole Brighouse were swift to pressure causing The Reds to mis-hit many a clearance or pass. As bizarre as the following statement reads; Brighouse had to clear three chances off the line, they rarely seemed under any danger of conceding.
Workington had to try something different and made a double change at the start of the second half. On came two wingers in Matt Clarke and Scott Allison. Clarke certainly an effective replacement as he caused the Town right side no end of trouble and it was through he that Workington equalised. In the forty seventh minute his low and hard cross from the left found its way to the back post then was squared back across goal for ex-Brighouse striker Ruben Jerome who could not miss from six yards.
Town suffered yet another injury blow when wing back Jack Tinker was on the receiving end of an unnecessarily heavy challenge out wide by scorer Jerome. The big Striker counting himself lucky the card brandished was only a yellow.
Unarguably Workington now began to look like a side that was at the higher end of the table and just over ten minutes later they led. A fifty ninth minute cross from the left once more was punched out by Jacob Carney; however only as far as the edge of his box. A back post scramble including Carney saw the ball returned with Sam Smith heading into an undefended net. The Orange Army ‘keeper then booked for his protestations that he was obstructed during the melee.
The weather then took a turn for the worse as wind and rain swirled. Town Manager Vill Powell made his final change in a like-for-like change of Forward Eli Hey for the hard working Laurence Sorhaindo. The game ebbed away as the rain continued to pour and it appeared Workington were going to see the result out.
Brighouse had other plans however and after a scrabble from a right sided corner Winger Javelle Clarke poked home to the joy of the 192 in attendance.
Brighouse drop one place to 17th whilst Workington finish the day in 2nd with five wins and four defeats.
The Team
Brighouse Town: Carney, Tinker (Mohammed 53), Reed, Grant, Harris (captain), (Wilkinson 21), Beedon, Clarke, Haigh, Sorhaindo (Hey 69), Racchi, Boyle. Subs not used: Smith, Church.