Anyone who braved some football on Tuesday evening was either nuts, passionate or a genuine football lover. One of those categories I must fall into as the evening descended into a windy, wet time of failing to keep dry.
A second game in Sussex consecutively, this one had been planned in for a while as a re-arranged fixture but about as close as Storrington is to me distance wise from the weekend.
The Sussex Transport Community Stadium, home of Worthing FC was the destination for the first time this season, along with Gaz, both of us ending up struggling to be dry.
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We headed into the new North Stand as shown in the excellent picture above, opened just a few days prior and not yet fully operational. It certainly gives the ground a fantastic new look to it as the Rebels strive to reach the National League top division.
Their opponents Welling Utd, a side well known to me from childhood days, started the season well but have dropped off a little the last few weeks and needed a win to rediscover themselves.
With the rain coming down before the game kicked off, a slicker surface on the 3G meant the ball needed a little less zip. The visitors stuck well to their game plan nullifying dangermen Danny Cashman and Jack Spong, but not threatening themselves, neither keeper with a save to make in the first 45 although the Wings did clip the top of the bar with Chris Haigh beaten.
The second half opened up a little bit, Cashman found a little more space but the best option as per the first half was the touchline hugging Nicky Wheeler.
It took a while for a chance to materialize but it eventually did on 69 minutes, a superb cross field ball from Joel Colbran out to Cashman who beat his man, firing the ball into the box perfectly for Mo Faal to slide the ball home.
But, there was no pushing forward for a second goal and Welling sensed there was a goal in it for them piling on the pressure, but not finding the Rebels defence in generous mood. It did take a very strong block from Colbran in the dying embers to deny the Wings a shot on Haigh’s goal, Cashman actually firing the ball towards goal after the Welling keeper had gone up for the final corner, the referee blowing the final whistle as the ball rolled and did eventually end up in the net, just a fraction too late.
Both sides needed the three points here for different reasons, as Chris Agutter eluded to afterwards not often a grinding out 1-0 win for Worthing which at times is needed.
You can clearly see this is a work in progress, massively. Their management team are cutely aware they’re not the finished article and have plenty still to do, but this is a new identity to be built, it’s not Adam Hinshelwood any more after some wonderful years and these things don’t happen overnight.
If you look at it in the light of the morning, two points off the play offs and five points off the top of the table having started the season with six consecutive away games and not yet at full steam, I’d be taking that because there is plenty of promise.
Wheeler was the outstanding player throughout the game, always available and the space he had on the wing was crazy. There did seem a little too much midfield space with no body in the hole, something I’m sure the MT will identify and look at going forward.
You can see the work in progress judging by the runs Faal was making not on the same wavelength of either Spong or Cashman, two goals in four is a nice return to start with and no doubt he will get stronger as fitness comes his way.
On another night Welling would have come away with something but there wasn’t enough on front of goal, I remarked on social media one moment of quality would be enough to win it and proved correct.
Great to catch up with a couple of ex-Bees before kick-off, Sam Beard and Kevin Watson. Beardy a great lad, hopefully back from injury soon and a lovely little chat about the current Barnet situation and of course his dad Mark who I know well.
Kev I’ve known for quite a few years and was great to see him back in football earlier this year, a good chat about the current state of play at Park View Road and also a bit of Ebbsfleet Utd too amongst other things.
Managed to dry out eventually by the time I got home, hopefully the weather moves on and we’re back to dry footballing days before the coldness starts to kick in, an excellent 1,156 in to watch despite the grim conditions.
