Weston were unable to stop home side Workington from setting up a FA trophy clash with Bromley following a 1 – 1 draw on Saturday, forcing the replay at Borough Park.
With Marc McGregor reverting back to a 4-3-3, the change in tactics allowed captain Jacob Cane to push further forward, and an early advanced run off the ball almost made something happen for the Seagulls when his cross was deflected out for a corner. A few minutes later, Scott Allison, Workington’s scorer on Saturday, broke the offside trap but Luke Purnell was quickly out to stop the effort.
Jake Reid’s effort was deflected wide after turning on the edge of the box from a Weston counter, before Purnell kept Weston in the game momentarily. Allison brought a clipped pass down but Purnell got down well to stop the shot. The ball rolled out to a Workington player 20 yards out, and with the goal gaping, his effort was bound for the net however Weston’s No.1 was up quickly to tip over the bar.
Purnell’s heroics would only last for a minute though when the resulting corner was half-cleared by Jake Lee. Centre-back Josh Calvert was lurking on the edge of the area, and his shot on the half-volley beat Purnell and nestled in the far corner to put the home side ahead.
Before half-time, right-back Ash Harper tripped his opponent while tracking back, with a seemingly harsh yellow card brandished by the referee towards the loanee instead of a warning.
Following the interval, Cane played a disguised ball in behind the Workington defence for Gethyn Hill, whose shot was straight into the midriff of Reds keeper Aaran Taylor.
Weston pulled themselves back on to level terms, nine minutes into the second half. Central midfielder Naby Diallo recieved the ball 25 yards from goal, and his effort found the bottom corner to equalise.
Cane was shown a yellow for dissent when it looked as if a Workington player had used his hand to control the ball, before Harper was shown his marching orders with a second yellow after lunging in late on Phil Mcluckie to halt a counter-attack.
A minute after Weston were reduced to ten men, Weston found themselves behind again. A cross came in from the Workington left-hand side, and Mcluckie arrived ahead of Harvey Smith and Lee to power a header in from six yards out.
Weston attacked late on, but were unable to convert any chances, with Lee’s shot from the edge of the area going narrowly wide of Taylor’s goal as Weston bowed out of the FA Trophy.
We would like to wish Workington all the best for the rest of the season, and good luck as they continue their FA Trophy adventure with a home tie against Bromley next month!
FT: Workington 2 – 1 Weston (Calvert 32, Mcluckie 70-Diallo 54)
Weston XI: Purnell, Harper (S/O 69), Greenslade, Cane (C), Smith, Lee, Kington, Diallo, Reid (Hunter 61), Welch, Hill. Unused substitutes: Morris-Edwards, Llewellyn.
MOTM: Jacob Cane – Covered a large amount of ground, organised the midfield well and kept the tempo ticking over whenever the Seagulls had possession.