Last updated at 11:44, Tuesday, 08 January 2013

Workington Reds are clinging onto their play-off ambitions despite failing to win their second holiday game at Borough Park.

Level best: Reds celebrate Kyle May's equaliser against Boston

Following their 2-1 defeat by Harrogate on New Year’s Day, Reds needed a goal in the 93rd minute to scramble a 1-1 draw with Boston on Saturday.

Kyle May came-up with a late saving header to spark excited celebrations among the players.

Manager Darren Edmondson said: “I told them in the dressing room that they were celebrating as if they had won the game and that they will look back and realise they should have done so.

“I thought we bossed the game for the last half an hour and had several opportunities. That was the disappointing factor but what I can’t knock is the spirit in the team.

They kept going top the very end and were rewarded with Kyle’s late equaliser. I am disappointed that we picked up only one point from the two New Year fixtures but we are still just five points behind the team in the fifth play-off place.

“It’s very tight between seven or eight clubs and there’s going to be a lot of twists and turns between now and the end of the season.

“We hadn’t played well against Harrogate, who probably just about shaded it, but I thought we deserved to win the game against Boston.

“They hardly had a scoring opportunity until they took the lead and then we needed a smart save from Jonathan Mitchell to keep us at 0-1.

“After that we dominated with the wind behind us and the fact that we kept going deep into stoppage time was a great testament to the never-say-die spirit there is in the team.

“Now we have to respond like we did after the 6-1 home defeat by Bradford and go away to win two in a row. We did that at Gloucester and Stalybridge and now we have Histon and Bradford coming up.

“Histon are down the bottom and fighting to stay up while we know how good Bradford are after their win at Borough Park, so it will be tough to follow-up with two more wins.”

Edmondson confirmed that his search for an experienced goalkeeper has been scaled-back following the solid performances of Newcastle loanee Jonathan Mitchell.

“It was always my intention to give him three or four games to see how he went and I have to say I’ve been impressed. He’s a strong, confident boy who has fitted in well and he will learn to talk and organise his back four as he gets more experience.

“We will have to look and see what we do about bringing in new faces when Joe Mwasile goes back to Morecambe in a fortnight and what happens with Will Vaulks if interest from league clubs is maintained.

“Replacing them could well become a more important factor than finding an experienced goalkeeper judging by how Jonathan has performed,” said the Reds boss.

sport.carlisle@cngroup.co.uk

First published at 13:39, Monday, 07 January 2013
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk