Workington 1 Leamington 2: Brakes’ hard work finally rewarded as Johnson pounces for late winner

Ricky Johnson’s 90th-minute strike made the long journey back to Warwickshire all the sweeter and was no more than they deserved, Paul Holleran’s men battling back from conceding an early goal to dominate for long spells.

Workington’s Borough Park pitch looked in fine fettle and the home side took the lead with almost the first attack of the game with seven minutes played.

A left-wing cross from Phil McLuckie saw a low shot parried by Tony Breeden with the loose ball falling nicely for Joe Jackson to stab in a shot that found the net with the aid of a deflection.

This acted as a spur for Leamington and they began to gain a foothold in the match with Lee Chilton sending a looping header over the bar under pressure.

The equaliser arrived just before the half-hour mark when Matt Dodd got the better of Anthony Wright and cut the ball back to Johnson just inside the box.

His shot was blocked but the ball span through to Lee Moore who could not fail to find the open net from close range.

As Leamington began to dictate the game, Wright was booked for taking out Dodd in front of the dugouts.

The livewire winger was unhurt, however, and provided an inviting ball from which Chilton headed inches wide.

Jackson blazed a shot well over after cutting in from the left and Steve Hindmarch almost restored Workington’s lead when he headed just wide from a corner as the Reds rallied before half-time.

Johnson was almost played through on goal by Stephan Morley early in the second half, while an unsightly melee developed after a poor challenge on the left-back, which saw Breeden and Phil McLuckie booked after order was restored.

Leamington continued to look the more threatening, Jake Heath almost setting himself up for a shot inside the box only for the ball to drop kindly for a defender.

Johnson then beat two defenders and slotted past keeper Alex Wimmer from a pinpoint Morley pass, only to turn in disbelief to find that he had been penalised for handball by the referee.

Hindmarch headed well wide at one end, while Dodd came even closer at the other, meeting a ball to the far post with a downward header that bounced right in front of goal and was helped over the bar by Wimmer.

Holleran replaced the hard-working Moore with Will Green as the game moved into the closing stages.

Liam Daly headed into the side netting from a free-kick before the hosts began to apply late pressure of their own, with substitute Scott Allison proving the catalyst.

A shot struck Daly and span behind for a corner, while Allison forced Breeden into his first real save of the game with a powerful low drive that the keeper turned around the post.

The winning goal arrived in dramatic fashion as the game edged into injury time.

Chilton looked to have been beaten to a ball up the left channel by Wright, only for the diminutive midfielder to nick the ball away from the defender, charge into the area and crash in a shot that was blocked. The ball ran out to Johnson, who had time to take a touch and drive it into the net off a despairing defender to the unrestrained delight of both his team-mates and the travelling support behind the goal, where both groups celebrated wildly.

Allison saw a shot charged down as Workington pushed forward in the seconds that remained, but at the final whistle Leamington were able to fully celebrate a win that has been a long time coming.

Manager Holleran was delighted with the efforts of his team, singling out the contributions of two of his new faces along with an old stalwart.

“I thought the two young lads did ever so well again and gave us energy - Jake (Heath) and James (Fry),” said Holleran.

“Liam Daly was outstanding and there were some really good individual performances.”

WORKINGTON: Alex Wimmer, Lee Andrew, Anthony Wright, Kyle May, Dan Wordsworth, Steve Hindmarch, Phil McLuckie, David Lynch (Danny Forrest, 82), Joe Jackson, Ross Wilson (Ben McKenna, 75), Connor Tinnion (Scott Allison, 63). Subs not used: Luke Dean, Gavin Skelton.

BRAKES: Tony Breeden, James Fry, Stephan Morley, Joe Magunda, Liam Daly, James Mace, Matt Dodd, Jake Heath, Ricky Johnson, Lee Moore (Will Green, 78), Lee Chilton.Subs not used: Craig Owen, Luke Connolly, Josh Hawker, Lewis Fenney.