Grand National – or National South title race? Both promise great finishes... but are hard to predict
There’s a certain irony that the visit this Saturday of Dagenham and Redbridge to Woodside Road for the Rebels’ penultimate National League South home fixture takes place on the same day as the Grand National at Aintree.
Over the years the greatest steeplechase in the world has thrown up some amazing stories, almost analogies of life itself, from Devon Loch’s collapse in the 1950s, to runaway leader Crisp eventually being caught in the home straight by Red Rum in his first win in 1973.
The comparison to football, and specifically the race for the National League South title, is apt.
It wasn’t that long ago that Dorking Wanderers looked home and hosed for the title going into the last few weeks of the season. Even this time last week they were still six points clear going into the Easter programme, with a visit to Horsham, a team with seemingly ‘nothing to play for’ on Good Friday followed by Monday’s top-of-the-table clash at home to Worthing.
For their part Worthing left it extremely late to beat relegation haunted Eastbourne Borough at Woodside Road on Good Friday.
And while back to back wins – the second a 2-1 success at Dorking on Monday – have now seen Adam Hinshelwood’s men hit the front with three matches to go, there’s still, even with a ‘mere’ 270 minutes left of scheduled league action, time for more twists and turns.
Whilst a relatively young manager in footballing terms, Hinshelwood is an old head, with no room for either complacency or over-confidence.
The job’s not finished, and even if they get a win on Saturday, the final two fixtures pit Worthing against two sides still very much in the play-off picture, Maidstone and Ebbsfleet respectively.
But in Hinshelwood, and his vastly experienced management team, that’s one of Worthing’s overriding advantages going into the home straight.
It’s all about fine margins, sliding door moments, whatever you want to call it, and with the greatest respect to Chris Agutter, the manager who the Rebels started the season with, and who himself has done an amazing job guiding Sutton United to safety in the National League, the fate of potentially the greatest season in Worthing Football Club’s history is partly down to a series of events back in the autumn.
I understand that Agutter wasn’t Sutton’s first choice, Hinshelwood was, but he chose to turn the offer down, Sutton then came calling for the Worthing manager, paid a substantial compensation package and paved the way for Hinsh’s return to Woodside Road after his eventful spell up at York City.
It clearly worked at Sutton, and keeping everything crossed in BN14, it looks like everyone at Worthing FC, both on and off the pitch, will finally get the outcome they all deserve.
Just please nobody search Devon Loch on YouTube...