Worksop Town fall to first league defeat in nine as Prescot Cable strike late

On a rainy night at the Windsor Food Service Stadium, John Murphy's brace secured a 2-1 victory for the visitors, despite Dan Bramall's stunning long-range goal.

Worksop also missed a penalty and manager Craig Parry said: “It’s a really hard one to assess at this moment in time, I think I need a bit more time to look back at the game.

“We’ve given a horrendous goal away, which was a team effort, when we had total control of the game, gifted them a goal.

"But we get in at half-time level, and the game was there for the taking. We missed opportunities and our general play was poor. It’s one of those that we’re going to have to reassess and move forward because it’s one that will hurt.”

Worksop's first major opportunity came in the sixth minute when Terry Hawkridge whipped in a cross from the right, finding Tigers' captain Hamza Bencherif at the back post, but Andre Mendes made a full-stretch save to deny his header.

Prescot Cables broke the deadlock in the 15th minute after a mix-up between the Tigers' defence and Seb Malkowski allowed what seemed like a loose ball to fall kindly for John Murphy, who volleyed it into an empty net.

In the 21st minute Jack Goodwin nearly doubled Prescot's lead with a snapshot from the left aimed at Malkowski’s near post, forcing the keeper to push it behind.

Worksop drew level just before the half-hour mark when Dan Bramall cut in from the left and unleashed a powerful strike from around 25 yards out. Mendes got a hand to it but couldn’t keep it out.

Less than a minute later, Luke Hall was fouled in the box, giving Worksop a penalty. Vaughan Redford stepped up to take it, but Mendes dived to his right and made a crucial save to deny the Tigers.

Substitute Jacob Gratton also came close with a powerful effort that sailed just over the crossbar. But Murphy struck again in the 80th minute to complete his brace, calmly finishing under Malkowski after being played through by Lewis Gilboy.

The Tigers will now aim to bounce back and maintain their unbeaten away record at Ashton United on Saturday.