✓999 Derwent Park

Workington 3-1 Ilkeston Town

Northern Premier League - Premier Division

Saturday 12th September 2026

Workington is a west coastal port town and civil parish in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, at the mouth of the River Derwent. The town is 32 miles south-west of Carlisle and 8 miles north-east of Whitehaven. (population over 21,000)

The place-name first appears in an Anglo-Saxon charter of 946, as Wurcingtun. It appears as Wirchingetona in about 1150, meaning "the town or settlement of Weorc or Wirc's people", with "Work" deriving from a person's name

Football was first played in Workington in the 1860s and became more popular when a group of 1,500 steel workers moved to the town from Dronfield, Derbyshire in 1884. The original Workington AFC formed in 1883 and were one of the founder members of the Cumberland Association League in 1888, playing at the Ashfield Ground before moving to Lonsdale Park for the 1909.

In 1894, they moved to the Cumberland Senior League, then in 1901 joined the Lancashire League, which closed down two seasons later. After returning to the Cumberland Senior League, they moved on to the Lancashire Combination, but in 1910, they decided to economise and join the North Eastern League, but after only one season, the club folded.

The new club was founded in 1921, returning to the North Eastern League. In 1937 the club moved to Borough Park, and in 1951 were voted into the Third Division North of the Football League, replacing New Brighton

The Reds constantly struggled in the Football League, their best ever season came in 1966, finishing 5th in the Third Division and narrowly missing out on promotion, then the following season they finished bottom and were relegated back to the Fourth Division.

The club finished second from bottom in 1973-74 and ‘74-’75, then finished at the foot of Division Four the following two seasons. In 1976-77, the club won only four games, with home attendances falling well below 1,000, which finally led to the club being voted out of the League, being replaced by Wimbledon and going down to the Northern Premier League. 

Non-League Record:

Northern Premier League 1977 - 1998

North West Counties League 1998-99 - League champions

Northern Premier League 1999 - 2005 

Conference North 2005 - 2014

Northern Premier League 2015 - present

Currently in the Premier Division after winning the D1W play-offs in 2022-23

Firbus Community Stadium

Derwent Park

Workington CA14 2HG

Derwent Park is a Rugby League and former speedway stadium. It's currently the temporary home of Workington AFC, while Cumberland Sports Village is being built on the site of Borough Park, which should be completed in the summer of 2027.

The stadium was opened in 1956, with the record attendance set in March 1965 when 17,741 spectators watched a third round Challenge Cup match against Wigan. It is a classic old style ground, with a traditional seated stand on one side with a large covered terrace opposite. There’s a large terracing block on one side which curves around the speedway track. Floodlights were installed in 1990, with the current capacity set at 12,000 including 1,200 seats. It’ll be a shame to see this “proper ground” go when Workington Town RLFC move into the Sports Village next year. 

Workington 3 Ilkeston Town 1

Pitching In NPL Premier Division matchday 8

(9th v 17th)

3pm ko

Att.818

Admission £15

A brace from Luke Harrison in the opening ten minutes set the Reds on their way to three points. The deficit was halved early in the second half but the two goal lead was quickly restored. 

2-0 Luke Hunter 4’,10’

2-1 Anthony Dwyer 48’

3-1 Brennan Dickenson 57’

#Heedhopper

98 miles door-to-door

0926 Northern trains from Newcastle via Carlisle arrive 1156.

Return 1720, back to the Toon at 8pm.

 

An enjoyable trip over to Cumbria, where I met up with Dave Phillipson who travelled across from Hull. We called for refreshment in the Henry Bessemer, Bees Knees and the Miners Arms before the game. There were plenty of Groundhoppers at the game including Brett Price, one of the old 100FgC gang who I saw in the Workington Railway Club after the match. The Northern trains ran spot on time, so there was time for a bevvy in the Scott & Brassey in Carlisle station (which I'm very impressed with) before we all went our separate ways.

West Lancs Hop 2026

We did the Saturday and Sunday legs of this year's West Lancs Hop. 

I did the driving on Saturday, which was in and around the Lancaster area, and on Sunday Katie drove to the outskirts of Bolton, with Lee being our navigator on both days 

All the grounds are similar, with railed off pitch, team benches and good clubhouse facilities. Admission for all matches was a fiver (except Stoneclough who charged £6) and I purchased pin badges for all six grounds from Terry Hall 

29th August 2026

993. Caton Sports Field

Caton United 1 Langho 5

Division Two md7

14th v 10th

11am ko

Att.241

Football in Caton was established in 1898, winning an array of honours in league and cup during their long history in the North Lancashire & District League, including winning its Premier Division on three occasions. The club joined the West Lancs Division 2 in 2023-24, but have struggled at the wrong end of the table over the last three seasons. 

After a tight first half it was the visitors who took charge in the second period, running out 5-1 winners. 

 7’ 0-1 Edward Drake

55’ 0-2 Max McLaughlin

57’ 0-3 Callum Darcy

67’ 1-3 Jack Curwen

73’ 1-4  Edward Drake

90+2’ 1-5 Joel Phelps

994.York Road Playing Field

Storeys 7 Hawcoat Park 0

Division Two md7

6th v 15th

2pm ko

Att.253

The works team Storey Bros of Lancaster FC can be traced back to 1887, when the club played at Giant Axe, the home of Lancaster City. The club had one of the best set ups in the North Lancashire League and had a few ground moves before settling at York Road during the 1950s. Storeys won the Premier Division title in 1991, then their best period came in the 2000s. winning 13 trophies in nine years, including being Premier champions five times. They joined the West Lancs in 2019, but haven’t progressed from Division 2.

A convincing win for the hosts, with three players on a hat-trick with a quarter of the game remaining. As it turned out it was the big centre-half who notched his third and not the two strikers. 

Cameron Hollywood 11’,19’

Joel Creech 41’ 64’ 88’

Issac Fenton 43’,46’

995.Galgate Recreation Ground

Galgate 2 Appley Bridge 3

Division Two md8

12th v 7th

5pm ko

Att.268

Galgate FC was founded in 1888 and known as The Silkboys due to the village’s silk mill heritage. The club made an appearance in the FA Cup in 1949, losing 5-3 away at Fleetwood. They joined the West Lancs in 2018 and are another club who have struggled to progress up to Division One. 

After a heavy downpour before the match and persistent rain throughout, it turned out to be the best game of the day, with a last minute clincher for the away side.

12’ 0-1 Harley Ray

44’ 1-1 Callum Moore

62’ Red Card Kyle Lewis (Galgate)

64’ 1-2 pen Danny Atkins

68’ 2-2 Ben McMeeking

90+2’ 2-3 Danny Atkins

30th August 2026

996.Fox Park

Stoneclough 3 Chipping 2

Division One md8

4th v 1st

11am ko

Att.324

Stoneclough were formed in 1986 by a bunch of local lads wanting to play within the community. The club played at Stoneclough Playing Fields and were the dominant side in the Bolton Combination during the 1990s.

In 2001, the club finally gained the ground lease on Brook Street and entry into the West Lancs League.  They won promotion in 2004-05, then won the Division One title in 2007-08 to reach the Premier Division. The club found themselves back in Division Two in 2024, but won promotion again last season as runners-up. 

This was the only ground to have a stand, because it was used to film scenes for the Netflix series, "The English Game" when a small Victorian style stand was erected, with the structure left for the club to use when filming was completed.

An entertaining game was decided by a cracking volley by Joe Howlin, ten minutes from time. 

10’ 0-1 Ethan Edmundson

14’ 1-1 Lewis Greenhalgh

36’ 2-1 Joe Howlin

67’ Red Card Troy Bentley (Stoneclough)

74’ 2-2 Aaron Hewitt 

80’ 3-2 Joe Howlin

997.Eagley Sports Complex

Eagley 2 Hurst Green 2

Premier Division md8

3th v 7th

2pm ko

Att.359

Originally called Eagley Mills FC, the club is one of the country’s oldest amateur clubs, tracing back to 1877. They were Preston North End’s first opponents in 1878 and the first club Bolton Wanderers faced in the FA Cup in 1881 (a 5-5 draw, 0-1 in the replay) After the war the club played in the Bolton Combination, becoming league champions in 1965-66. 

Eagley joined the West Lancs League in 1988, winning Division Two at the third attempt. After reaching the Premier Division, the club were relegated in 2017, but won the Division One title in 2023-24 and are currently the West Lancs champions, winning the Premier Division last season. 

Hurst Green amazingly grabbed a point with  two stoppage time goals.

42’ 1-0 Finlay Stafford

67’ 2-0 Cormac O’Mahony

90+2’ 2-1 Jake Craven

90+3’ 2-2 Dave Bowlin

998.Thomason Fold

Turton 0 Carnforth Rangers 3

Division One md8

5th v 2nd

5pm ko

Att.314

The original Turton FC formed in 1871, playing a major part in the formation of the Lancashire FA. In 1879-80 they played in the FA Cup for the first time and took part in the first Lancashire Cup competition. The club played in the Lancashire Combination and were dominant in the Lancashire Junior Cup, lifting it four times at the turn of the century, then adding the Lancashire Amateur Shield in 1913. 

Turton joined the West Lancs in 1987-88, winning Division Two in their debut season. The club won Division One in 2015-16, but were relegated from the Premier Division in 2024. 

Carnforth had the game wrapped up by half time, scoring three times without reply. 

Cameron Holmes 11’pen, 44’

Jack Johnson 37’