Recap
Two remarkably similar goals from in-form Steven Rigg, within forty-eight seconds of each, other turned the game in Reds’ favour.
He struck in the 37th and 38th minutes with two sublime goals, lobbing the stranded Matt Yates from almost the same square metre of Borough Park turf.
The goals epitomised the confidence oozing from Rigg at the moment who is not only Workington’s top scorer, but a centre forward who is leading the line well and pivotal to how the team plays. He has been an unsung hero for much of his five seasons at Borough Park but is now deservedly getting the plaudits on a regular basis.
And those two goals got Workington back into a game they possibly would have lost earlier in the season.
A confident spell from the visitors and Reds’ inability to get to grips with a fierce swirling wind culminated in the Derbyshire outfit opening the scoring.
Steven Swinglehurst lost his footing as he twisted and turned trying to judge the flight of the ball and Tom Cursons, who had squandered two earlier chances, took advantage to drive the opener past Alex Mitchell in the twenty-seventh minute.
But Swinglehurst atoned for his unfortunate mishap with an assist for the equaliser ten minutes later. His long ball from back to front got Rigg goal-side of the blue shirted back line and he confidently restored parity.
The home support was still celebrating his first goal when he netted a carbon copy second soon after. This time it was Josh Galloway who sent Rigg in the clear and with the crowd probably thinking, “I bet you can’t do that again,” he did!
Workington’s rear guard was more secure after the break and they needed to be to deal with Ilkeston’s aerial threat.
Mitchell bravely saved one effort on the line when he smothered the ball amidst several pairs of boots and Town thought they had equalised via Harvey Kirkby-Moore but the ‘keeper had been fouled in the build-up.
Cursons scooped another close-range effort over the bar when two defenders failed to deal with a cross from the left but Workington survived that scare and actually managed the situation well in the later stages.
In fact, they had a great opportunity to score a third when man-of-the-match Rigg was presented with a chance to complete his hat-trick. It seemed just a case of finding an empty net from the edge of the area but Yates recovered his ground to make a fine save.
Overcoming a nervous start, and the conditions played a part in that, followed by a character-generated recovery and good game management in the later stages extended the winning sequence to four matches in all competitions.
Workington: Mitchell, Little, Galloway, Kamara, Swinglehurst, Ambrose, Symington, Nugent, Rigg, Norris (Hubbold, 77), Stephenson (McCarron, 90). Substitutes – Wilkinson, Bell, Eccles (not used).
Ilkeston Town: Yates, Minkley, Parker (Wafula, 57), Dixon, Marshall, Wilkinson, Stevens (Hutchinson, 60), Miekle, Cursons, Kirkby-Moore, Walker. Substitutes – Kobe Eratt-Thompson, Dec Eratt-Thompson, Daniel (not used).
Referee: Nat Cox,
Bookings: Swinglehurst (Workington), Cursons, Wafula (Ilkeston Town).
Attendance: 803