HACK AND KAMARA SALVAGE A POINT FOR WORTHING

After going two goals down from set pieces, Worthing managed to earn a point in a tight contest against Cardinal Newman. A frustrating afternoon for the home side who had plenty of opportunities to get three points.

Pre-Match Build Up:

Worthing’s pre-match session on Monday focused specifically on set pieces and how they can get the ball into wide areas in order to be direct and dangerous. After the session, Worthing manager Dave Hall took part in an interview where I questioned him on what we can expect from the highly anticipated match-up.

Hall is expecting a tough game stating “Newman have improved a lot over the season”. Hall is not underestimating the importance of this fixture as his side must gain the 3 points today in order to secure a play-off place. Newman are known to play positively through the thirds so it will be interesting to see how Worthing can combat that with their wide and direct football.

Throughout the Academy Dave Hall promotes a positive ethos where everyone gives 100% and works together as a unit at all times. He explained, “Players give everything, that’s a non-negotiable. Trust the process, we will come unstuck if we play as individuals” pushing the message for his side to believe in his ideas and approach to the game on Wednesday.

When asked if Newman had any weaknesses his side were looking to exploit, Hall responded “To be honest I haven’t really focused on them, I think it’s more about how we apply ourselves. Our players have certain tools they can use.”

Worthing Testing The Waters

The game started fairly slowly, Worthing were dominating possession but nothing came of it. The first half chance of the game fell to Harry Margeson. A ball over the top wasn’t cleared effectively by Newman and an eager Margeson pounced. The Worthing striker was 1-on-1 against Dailly but couldn’t convert the opportunity as Dailly came out on top.

10 minutes later another half-chance arose for the home side. He brought the ball down smoothly before setting Alfie Mitchell. The midfielder sprayed the ball out to Ismail Kamara on the right flank. The tricky winger drove purposefully towards the byline and cut it back inside to Mitchell who lined up the shot from long range; unfortunately his shot sailed over the crossbar.

Fantastic Free-Kick Gives Newman The Lead

Cardinal Newman’s R. Jone broke the deadlock after 20 minutes with a curling effort outside the box. Worthing conceded a foul 22 yards away from goal, which Jones capitalised on perfectly as he bent the ball around Worthing's four-man wall and into the bottom corner.

The ball nestled into the left corner of the goal, past an outstretched Ethan Pearless. Jones wheeled away in celebration as he gave his side the lead, something not many people would have seen coming prior to kick-off.

Newman Double Their Advantage

8 minutes after Jones broke the deadlock, Newman extended their lead as Worthing concede from another set piece. The corner came in from the left side and traveled through a crowd of bodies before somehow finding its way into the back of the net.

The Worthing players were looking around at each other in disbelief, not seeming quite sure how their opponents have doubled their lead. Worthing centre-back Ben Hack attempted to fire up his teammates as the home side reset at the centre circle.

Ben Hack Heads Home

The final action of the half fell to Worthing and they took it! Ben Royall’s in-swinging corner was perfectly executed, meeting his teammate’s in the 6-yard box. The initial attempt on goal was pushed away from Dailly and came back to Hack who headed the ball goal-wards.

Dailly got a hand to the thumping header but it had already crossed the line according to the referee. The Worthing centre-back halved the deficit moments before the interval, a goal which gave Worthing some hope heading into the second period of the match.

All Guns Blazing

Dave Hall’s side came out for the second half with a new surge of energy. Straight from kick-off Kamara nicked possession from his opponents and drove forwards rapidly. He wasn’t able to convert the strike but nonetheless, it was a positive start to the half from Worthing which hinted at more good things to come.

Lots of half chances came Worthing’s way in the first 10 minutes of the half, a lot more eventful than the beginning of the first half. Worthing were knocking at the door, doing everything they could to level the score line.

Margeson Denied The Equaliser

Just before the hour mark, Harry Margeson scored what he thought was the equaliser, but the linesman cut his celebrations short.

Captain Danny Jones picked up the ball in the middle of the park and burst forward before slotting in Margeson. The Worthing number 9 made a well-timed run in behind the Newman defence but both the striker and his opponents had a fumble with the ball which made it seem as though the attack had fizzled out.

Margeson had other ideas as he emerged with the ball and passed the ball into an empty net, however, the linesman gave offside although it seemed Margeson had been behind the defence the entire time. The score remained 2-1, much to the home side's disappointment.

Kamara Levels The Score

A goal for Worthing with just 10 minutes left on the clock, and they deserved it! After a relentless second half, Worthing finally had their goal. A game full of set-piece goals and this one was no different, the corner ball found Hack at the back post again, who nodded it down towards his teammates.

A goal-mouth scramble ensued and was eventually stabbed home by Kamara. The winger had caused all sorts of trouble especially in the second half and got his goal to show for his impressive performance. 10 minutes remained with momentum with the home side. Could they go all the way and flip the score line entirely?

Controversy At The Final Whistle

In the dying moments of the game, both sides were searching desperately for the winner. Newman came forwards in numbers however their chance petered out. However a blunder from Pearless caused them to score, the Worthing goalkeeper spilled the ball allowing it to be simply headered in at the back post.

Newman thought they’d done it, with Worthing players devastated, but the linesman had his flag up meaning the Pearless got away with his mistake. Another very lucky moment occurred seconds later involving Worthing’s man between the sticks.

Full-back Arses Tsoungui passes the ball back to Pearless which the goalkeeper picks up. Newman assumed they were getting an indirect free kick when the referee blew his whistle, however he actually blew up for full-time. The away side were furious but the referee’s decision was final and the game concluded in a 2-2 draw.

Starting XI's

Worthing –  E. Pearless, B. Hack, B. Royall, H. Bladt, A. Tsoungui, D. Jones, B. Ground, A. Mitchell, I. Kamara, J. Vernon-Lehane, H. Margeson

Newman – E. Dailly, C. Evans, R. Appiah, M. Donovan, H. Dawson, L.Pigatto, S. Weber, J. Nandhra, H. Lewes, V. De Janon, R. Jones

Written By Isabelle Newnham