Workington AFC, Borough Park – Hopper Tales #64

Coast to Coast

Time for another trip from the east coast to the west coast. Having already visited Carlisle United and Barrow this season, it was time to tick off the other big club in Cumbria – Workington AFC.

Of course, they haven’t always been this far down the league pyramid.

In 1977, Workington AFC failed to get re-elected to the Football League and lost their place in the upper echelons.

They had spent twenty-six years in the League, having replaced New Brighton in 1951.

Famous Names at Workington

In January 1954, one of the most famous managers to ever grace the British game took over as boss at Borough Park. Bill Shankly, who went on to serve with distinction at Liverpool was boss of his original Reds team until November of the following year.

He made an impression at the club and in 1980, he came back to officially open the Shankly Lounge himself.

On the 4th of January 1958, Workington attracted a club-record crowd of 21,000 to Borough Park. The occasion? The visit of the Busby Babes of Manchester United for an FA Cup 3rd Round tie. Tragically, many of that young team lost their lives in the Munich Air Disaster the very next month.

Ups and Downs

In 1964 Workington got promoted to the third tier of the league and achieved their highest-ever position of fifth in 1966. It was all downhill from there though. They were relegated back to the fourth division the following season and regularly finished near the bottom of the league.

In 1977, their luck ran out when they failed to garner enough votes from their peers for re-election. They were replaced in the Football League by Wimbledon.

A few more ups and downs followed but the trend was mostly down and today, Workington find themselves playing in the eighth tier of the football pyramid.

This is where our trip to Workington AFC comes in, so let’s take a look at how we got on.

Workington AFC – Journey and Pre-Game

Stage One

The journey began as it usually does in the Hopper household… early!

Up at six in the morning, stumbling around getting ready and out to catch the 07:05 bus to the Toon. We arrived in Newcastle around 07:55 and walked to our next usual haunt – Greggs.

Having stocked up on pastry yummies, we made our way towards the train station.

This is when Mrs Hopper asked the innocent question “Are we on our usual 08:49 train?”

“Ummm, I don’t know. I forgot to look!”

This is what happens when you get into a habit of doing things a certain way!

Turns out, our train wasn’t until 09:23! There was an earlier train due very soon though, at 08:23 and we quickly made our way to the platform. Here we asked the guard if it would be ok to jump on this train rather than wait around for another hour. Luckily, she was obliging and having thanked her, we got on board.

Phew!

Stage Two

Catching this earlier train actually made our day a lot easier.

A couple of days prior, we received a message asking if we’d be interested in joining a guided tour of Borough Park. Having consulted with Mrs Hopper, we said we would be happy to join. With a starting time of noon, our original train had us due to arrive in Workington at 11:55, leaving us just five minutes to find the ground.

Now, we would be free to have a slow amble around.

Our train pulled into Carlisle at 10:00 and the connecting train was at 10:13. Again, the guard was ok with us catching this earlier than scheduled train, so thank you to all involved on Northern Rail for that. I’m sure the fact that these trains weren’t busy made their decision a lot easier.

Life’s Coincidences

During the journey from Carlisle to Workington, we got chatting with a guy on the train. He just happened to be a supporter of the club that replaced Workington in the Football League – Wimbledon!

A very amiable and knowledgeable gentleman and I enjoyed talking to him. He was living in Scotland and journeying down to Barrow-in-Furness to watch the Dons play at Holker Street. A ground we visited a few weeks ago for Hoppers Tales #57.

We chatted about football mostly but he also knew the area in Maryland, USA where Mrs Hopper is from and had lived in the States for a while.

We pulled into Workington train station around 11:00 a.m. and said goodbye to our new friend.

What a lovely little station Workington is, too.

A very Victorian but well-maintained place that could almost be a working museum. I half expected the Hogwarts Express to pull in.

Workington Reds

We made our way towards Borough Park and took a little detour to have a look at the Workington Reds rugby league ground. I took a couple of photographs, but there wasn’t much to see without going through the gates.

As I’m not really a fan of rugby, I didn’t bother but I did take a photo from outside the fence.

There wasn’t a lot else to see from outside, so we didn’t linger.

I did get a nice modern art photograph of a shopping trolley in a picturesque stream next to what looks like some kind of old mill, though.

It’s a short trip from Workington train station to Borough Park and with the rain starting to fall, we made our way there.

Workington – Borough Park Exterior

We got our first glimpse of the stadium on the other side of a roundabout. It’s not the most inspiring view of such an iconic ground and certainly gives no impression of the delights ahead.

The side and end you can see in the photo above are all that is really visible from the outside.

I got a very nice photograph from the steps that lead up to the bridge over the River Derwent that sits beside the stadium, though.

Outside the ground, I spoke to an older gentleman who outside having a smoke. I asked him for a score prediction for the game today and he straightaway said “Oooh! Three nowt.”

If only I’d known I was speaking to Nostradamus I would have asked him a lot more questions!

Workington – Borough Park Exterior Gallery

Workington – Borough Park Interior

Although we were early, with the rain beating down, we went to the official entrance. After walking inside a lady asked us if she could help and we explained that we were here to meet Les Byers for a ground tour.

Like the shopkeeper in the old Mr Benn cartoons, Les appeared as if by magic and introduced himself. Although we were a few minutes early, he took us into the Shankly Lounge where we could sit out of the rain.

The Shankly Lounge

The Shankly Lounge is a room that looked to be set up for hospitality guests, with tables laid out for lunch.

While we waited for the other people on the tour to arrive, Les busied himself with getting things ready. The other people in the room were busy trying to set up a new smart TV on the wall. One of them said, “The TV might be smart but we aren’t.”

This is a sentiment I can go along with where technology is concerned.

The other Hoppers started to arrive and we were soon ready to begin the tour. We were each given a personalised match ticket for the occasion and off we went.

Tour

Dressing Rooms

We started off with a look around the dressing rooms that the players would be using later on. These were what I would describe as ‘minimalistic’.

The only nod to the fact that we have moved on from when the stadium was built in 1937, is the communal bath has been filled in and showers installed in its place.

A padded treatment table, wooden benches, whitewashed walls and a closet toilet. I half expected to see a bucket containing the fabled ‘magic sponge’ in one corner.

This isn’t a criticism, I love ‘old-school’ football grounds and it was one of the draws of coming here today.

It soon became apparent the love that Les had for Workington AFC. He regaled us with stories, facts and memories from the club and his history of watching and working here.

People like Les are vital cogs in the non-league machinery and they drive clubs forward with their dedicated passion.

Next, we made our way up the players’ tunnel and into the stadium itself.

The Stadium

The players’ tunnel is in keeping with the rest of the ground, in its traditional halfway-line positioning. Originally, the main stand would have been behind the players as they came out of the tunnel. These days, due to safety regulations following the Bradford City tragedy, the wooden bench seated area was deemed unsafe.

It now has a red metal sheet covering the benches.

On either side of the tunnel are the dugouts and a metal roof has been erected over this area. A few plastic seats are also placed behind the dugouts.

Town End Corner Terrace

We went next to the part of the ground that had fascinated me since I first saw photographs of it. The terrace behind the goal at the Town End of the ground.

What makes a terrace unique? In this case, it’s the covered section going around the corner from the goal towards the old main stand area.

It is weather-beaten, worn and rusted, and yet, totally wonderful!

This end terrace was also the scene of the most surreal part of the day.

A baby rabbit had strayed onto the terracing and was sitting ‘vewy, vewy quietwy’, hoping nobody would notice him. Too late, mate. Mrs Hopper has spotted you!

She quickly went to Buggs’ rescue and I fully expected him to make a run for it when she got too close. I was amazed to see her first stroke it and then pick him up and take him to the grass behind the terrace.

Hopefully, he found his way back home.

We walked to the other corner of the terrace. Here, Les pointed over the fence and told us that beyond it lies Lonsdale Park. Workington have secured a grant of over five million pounds to spend on revamping the stadium and creating a community pitch on Lonsdale Park.

There is going to be a walkway bridge between the pitch and the stadium. If all pans out well, this should secure the future of Borough Park.

However, for any Hopper who wants to see Borough Park the way it is now, I suggest you get your skates on…

Popular Side

Opposite the players’ tunnel, is the Popular Stand. This is another long terrace that runs the length of the stadium. The top half of this stretch of the terrace is seated.

Combined with the few seats behind the dugouts, there are a total of five hundred seats at Borough Park.

Another factoid emerged while we were viewing this stand. All the perimeter fences and the barriers on the terrace are actually railway lines. If you look closely, you can see in all the pictures that they are indeed rail lines painted red.

Apparently, railway lines used to be made at a local ironworks and the club managed to secure them all for a cut-price deal of £112.

At the other end of the ground, or the Derwent End, is an open terrace. This stadium really is a terrace lover’s dream.

It is also where Les likes to stand on match days. He even has his initials carved into the cement here.

About twenty yards behind this terrace is the river after which it is named, the River Derwent. It has been a foe of the town at times, with floodwater but it is a built-up area behind the terrace and ‘should’ be safe from flooding.

I hope planners bear this threat in mind when they make their plans for the future of Borough and Lonsdale Parks.

On the Pitch

Les then took us onto the playing surface at Borough Park where we had a group photograph in front of the goal.

Boardroom

From here we made our way back along the side of the pitch and back into the old grandstand area. We were led into the Workington boardroom. It is a small room decorated in faux-wood panelling. There is a trophy cabinet, a few framed pictures and a TV around a table in the middle.

Turnstile Fetish

Les was keen to show us the turnstiles at Borough Park and even allowed anyone who wanted to, to have a go at operating them.

One of the staff in the area teased Les as we left saying that he had a turnstile fetish. I don’t know about that but as someone who has a fetish for football stadiums, terracing and lovely old-fashioned floodlights, I can’t say a lot.

Tony Hopper Bar

With the tour winding down, we went back through the players’ tunnel and along to some white doors behind the terrace. These led to the Tony Hopper Bar, named after a legend of the Cumbrian football scene.

Having played for Carlisle United and Barrow, he completed the triumvirate by joining Workington from 2002-2004. He had a second spell with the club from 2005-2010.

In January 2017, tony was diagnosed with motor neurone disease and sadly passed away in October 2018.

More about that sad tale here, for those who wish to know more.

The bar is at one end of the room, the club shop at the other end and a snack bar that sells hot food between the two. There were a couple of televisions showing the Leeds rugby game, on the wall.

Here, we were given a drink of our choice, steak pie and chips, a Workington pin badge and a match programme.

We stayed in the Tony Hopper Bar until about 14:40 before making our way outside to stand on that lovely covered, end terrace.

Workington – Stadium Gallery

Workington – Pre-Game View of Borough Park

A shout-out to the Workington (or maybe Glossop?) club photographer!

He was standing in front of the terrace in the chilly rain wearing shorts and flip-flops. Here was me in a thick fluffy parka coat and boots…

He was clearly made of sterner stuff!

Workington AFC v Glossop North End – The Game

Form

Coming into today’s game, Workington had won two and lost two of their last four matches. This included a narrow 1-0 defeat against runaway league leader, Macclesfield. Sandwiched between these league games was a 4-2 win over local rivals Carlisle United in the Cumberland cup quarter-final.

That would be a win guaranteed to please the Reds’ fans.

Workington AFC were in third place before kick-off.

Opponents Glossop North End meanwhile, are at the opposite end of the table, second from bottom. They had drawn two and lost two of their last four matches and need to start getting points rapidly to stave off relegation fears.

Kick-Off

Everton are famous for entering the field to the theme of the old TV programme Z-Cars, so it was a bit of a surprise to hear the same tune ring out at Borough Park.

I don’t know if Bill Shankly would approve of that connection…

The home side got proceedings underway and they were kicking towards the open Derwent End in the first half.

Workington looked a better side than their Derbyshire rivals for much of this game but Glossop were game and plucky throughout.

With the Reds looking good on the ball and North End doing their utmost to get a result, fouls played a part in this game. Although it was never a dirty game, there were five yellows and a red card shown to Glossop players, with just one caution for Workington.

Penalty, Ref?

An early appeal for a penalty was turned down when the North End keeper, Craig Ellison appeared to trip Workington’s Scott Allison.

The first real shot in anger came in the twelfth minute.

The Reds’ David Symington struck a fierce free-kick from around thirty yards out that fizzed across the turf and struck the base of the left upright. The ball rebounded towards an onrushing Allison but it cannoned off him at speed before he could get any chance of controlling it.

In the 20^th minute, Glossop received the first of those yellow cards, Niall Moran being the first name taken.

Sweeper Keeper Extraordinaire

Not long after, Bevan Burey set alarm bells ringing with a shot from extreme range which nearly caught Ellison out. Workington’s keeper was playing the role of Manuel Neuer, if Neuer was a bit more adventurous…

It was quite a common sight to see Jim Atkinson edging up towards the halfway line and playing as a sweeper keeper/defensive midfielder.

Nonetheless, he played his role well and rarely got caught out of position (or possession!) He also set up quite a few attacks going forward. On this occasion though, he barely managed to get back to save Burey’s shot which was dipping just under his crossbar.

A collective sigh of relief was heard around Borough Park after that effort.

Two more yellow cards were collected by Glossop. A 31^st minute card for Luke Nock, followed by another for Keaton Mulvey four minutes later.

Cutting Edge

Ironically, the cutting edge was delivered from a scissor kick in the 37^th minute. Indirectly, but I like that link, so shhh!

It was Symington again with the acrobatic scissor-kick, as he got on the end of a Keelan Leslie cross at the back post. A good save from Ellison prevented the goal at the expense of a corner. From the resulting corner, Workington broke the deadlock.

The corner looped into the six-yard box, where Ellison made a hash of punching clear. His attempted clearance skimmed meekly off his glove and dropped into the crowded box. Allison prodded it forward and had it laid straight back to him.

As he stretched to reach the ball, he slipped over but still managed to convert, finding the top left corner.

Allison past Ellison, goal son!

The players and fans celebrated as ‘We Will Rock you’ by the immortal Freddie Mercury and Queen rang out from the loudspeakers.

1-0 Workington AFC!

Glossop’s Moses Yoak received his first yellow card in the 43^rd minute.

The second goal arrived just before the halftime whistle and it was another long-range effort from Symington.

Glossop conceded a free-kick thirty-five yards from goal and were probably thinking about their halftime break. The keeper was certainly caught off guard when Symington let loose a thunderbolt that sailed past him into the same corner as the opening goal.

Over to you Freddie!

2-0 Workington AFC!

The halftime whistle blew soon after and Workington went in with a deserved lead.

Half-time – Workington 2 v Glossop North End 0

I had been impressed by a few of the Workington players in that first half. Symington was a constant threat from set pieces and around the box. Atkinson was playing the best sweeper-keeper role I have seen aside from Manuel Neuer. While Bobby Carroll in midfield kept them ticking over with some lovely neat passing.

We took the opportunity to move around to the Popular Stand for the second half. My main motivation was to capture some footage of the magnificent corner terracing with match action.

Yeah, remember those fetishes I mentioned?

With the players back out and the rain stopping, we came out from under the roof and stood by the perimeter fence, roughly opposite the eighteen-yard line.

A great viewing point.

The Second Half

Glossop started the second half much more positively.

They had a shot from a distance that was saved comfortably under the bar by Atkinson before a close escape for Workington.

A Glossop free-kick on the right flank was half cleared before ending up with Joe Maguire. His effort from thirteen yards looked destined for the net but Atkinson reacted smartly to tip it wide for a corner.

From the resulting corner, a weak, fisted clearance by Atkinson resulted in a header by Niall Moran crashing against the angle of the bar and post.

Close escape!

At the other end, some neat passing around the edge of the box ended with a shot looping just wide of the right-hand post. A decent effort with the outside of his left foot.

The coup-de-grace was delivered on the hour by that man Symington again.

The move started right in front of us on Workington’s left flank. The ball was moved centrally before being played to Symington on the edge of the box. He outmuscled his marker, Kacper Mialkowski and turned towards goal.

His shot went under Ellison as he dived and the game was effectively over.

3-0 Workington AFC!

Bobby Carroll picked up Workington’s first yellow of the day a couple of minutes after the third goal.

In the 70^th minute, Yoak received a second yellow and his marching orders from Carlisle referee, Scott Henry.

Any slim hopes North End had of a comeback disappeared up the tunnel with Yoak. Maguire completed the referee’s comprehensive notebook list in the 79^th minute when he received his yellow.

Both teams huffed and puffed their way through the final twenty minutes with only one more real chance of note. The impressive Workington right back, Greg McCarragher received the ball on the right wing, beat his marker and dinked the ball into the area.

The ball fell to Lewis Riley who turned and fired a low shot at the goal. Ellison got down well to save on this occasion.

Workington deserved their win but Glossop weren’t as poor as the 3-0 scoreline might suggest.

My thoughts drifted back to earlier in the day and the conversation with the older gentleman outside the stadium.

“Oooh! Three nowt!” Well played, sir!

You can read a full Match Report here. The link is from the Workington AFC website.

Full-time – Workington 3 v Glossop North End 0

Attendance – 787

Entrance Fee – £11.00 or £30.00 for the tour and entry inclusive.

Programme – £2.50

Workington – Match Highlights

A clearly despondent Stuart Mellish, manager of Glossop, is shown being interviewed after the match.

Up Next

Up next for Workington is a midweek trip to Colne on the 28^th of March. This is followed by an April Fool’s Day trip to Widnes, where they will be hoping the joke is on their opponents.

With a squad returning to full strength, the signs are good for the Reds as they come to the crunch end of the season and they will be looking to secure their spot in the playoffs in the coming weeks.

For Glossop, things are starting to look pretty grim at the foot of the table and they will look to improve their position as they face successive home games against North Staffordshire teams. First up is Newcastle Town on April 1^st, followed by the visit of Kidsgrove Athletic on the 8^th.

Thoughts

Workington is an absolute must-visit for any groundhopper.

If you get a chance to do the tour with Les, do so, you won’t regret it. He clearly loves the club and the ground and this comes across during the look around the place.

That aside, the ground itself is well worth a visit for its old-school uniqueness. These sort of grounds with almost a complete bowl of terracing are being slowly consigned to the history books. The chances to see them like this are disappearing year after year.

In retrospect, Borough Park is quite similar to Arbroath‘s iconic Gayfield Park, another stadium we enjoyed visiting for Hoppers Tales #41.

The Town End terrace and its partial covering is a treasure that I would love to see the club restore, rather than replace when the refurbishment work is done.

All in all, a fabulous place to come and watch a game of football.

Do it!

Workington – After the Game

Following the final whistle, we made our way back to the train station as the rain continued to drizzle down. I feel like it always rains in Cumbria, although I’m sure that’s not true.

Maybe it just always rains when I’m in Cumbria? 😂

We were soon back at the station and our train arrived on time at 17:23.

The train pulled into Carlisle at 18:25 and the connecting 18:49 train was already on the platform waiting for us. Having climbed aboard, we settled down for the journey back to Newcastle.

There ‘may’ have been a few gentle deep breaths let out on the way back. Either way, it went very quickly…

We got into Toon at 20:15 and walked to the bus stop for our final leg of the journey home. The bus arrived at 20:35, getting us back to our town by 21:20. We called at Tesco for a few items, which ‘could’ have included chocolate muffins and walked through our front door just after 21:30.

Not bad!

Next Up For Hoppers Guide

Next up for us is a trip to the Gateshead International Stadium.

This is a trip we have made before having taken in a game against Curzon Ashton last season. However, it was while I was building this website and unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to write a review.

Time to put that right and on a big game day for the ‘Heed Army’, too.

An Isuzu FA Trophy semi-final tie against Barnet. Should be a great game against tough opposition.

Onto the next!

Hopper Tales #63 – Newcastle Blue Star

Hopper Tales #65 – Gateshead