Fine margins – but Worthing left to reflect on one point from six in tough week

Mo Faal’s goal secured a 1-1 draw at home to Chelmsford on Saturday in a game boss Chris Agutter said they ought to have won.

Then on Tuesday, they lost 1-0 at Farnborough, having played most of the second half with ten men after a controversial red card for Joe Cook.

The single point means Worthing slip to eighth in the table, but they’re still very mich in touch with the National South pace-setters.

After Saturday’s draw, Agutter said: “It’s two points dropped – we’ve got to win that. We can’t be that dominant, on the front foot, create that number of chances and give up as few chances as we did, and come away with only a point – especially at home.

"We’ve left two points out there – it was a real missed opportunity."

Agutter said Chelmsford were well-organised but added: “We have broken them down but we gave them a foothold by giving up such a cheap goal – and that is going to cost us.”

Agutter felt Worthing should have had a late penalty for a challenge on Temi Babalola but added: “We shouldn’t have had to rely on that.”

He is heartened that the Rebels are one of the division’s top-scoring teams and are creating plenty of chances. But he is frustrated at insrtances of teams scoring what he regards as soft goals – especially when it puts his side 1-0 down. He believes any game where the Rebels score first have a good chance of ending in wins.

"We’re in the play-off places but I’ve been around long enough to know if we concede this volume of goals, we won’t be in the play-offs,” he added.

"We’re not sitting here thinking we’ve cracked it. Defensively we need a lot of work.”

Agutter was absent at Farnborough because of a health-related issue and assistant boss Aarran Racine took charge.

Racine said after the single-goal defeat: “We played well, esepcially in the first half. Then we went down to ten men and still played well, in terms of chances and controlling game.

"We were unfortunate in both boxes, with the goal we conceded and missing a couple of chanves.”

Racine said once the emotion of the defeat had passed and the management and squad could reflect on how they were playing at present, they could go into Saturday’s clash wirh Weston with confidence. They then go to Salisbury on Tuesday.