‘It was a heartbreaker’ - Workington boss Billy Barr on dramatic late draw at FC United

The Reds, who are now winless in 10 league games, were seconds away from picking up their first victory since early November at promotion hopefuls FC United, having been 2-0 up heading into the final minutes of the second half.

However, Matty Grivosti pulled one back in the 87th minute, and then in the fifth minute of stoppage time, an acrobatic finish from substitute Jordan Buckley ensured the points were shared.

“I’m proud of them,” said Barr after the game. “We’d have taken that result before the game.

“Obviously, we’ve gone two up, and it feels like a loss, but some of our play was outstanding, and it’s what we want to achieve going forward.

“In my time at the club, that’s the best team we’ve played against, and we’ve matched them and been better at them for big chunks of the game.”

Despite being the equals of the side now second in the Northern Premier League table, Workington were unable to hold out for all three points, and Barr admits that it was a real gut punch to drop two points in the manner they did.

“It was a heartbreaker,” he added. 

“You see him [Buckley] go up and flip his leg, and the ball seemed to go in slow motion.

“I feel for them, for the effort that they’ve put in over the last three games. That’s three draws on the trot now. We’ve turned defeats into draws, and hopefully soon we’ll start to turn those draws into wins.”

While the Reds’ fourth win of the campaign is still elusive, Barr insists that something is changing in the dressing room, with momentum building.

“They’ve put their bodies on the line for a few games, and you can feel that there’s a different vibe in the group.

“There are massive positives: we just need to keep building on that.”