Now THAT is what dreams are made of - Worthing FC have given us a season and prize we will never forget
That was what dreams were made of!’ On Saturday, April 25, 2026, at approximately 2.20pm, Woodside Road witnessed scenes that only a few weeks previously would have been laughed off.
Yes, that’s right, Worthing FC were finally promoted. Not only just promoted, but promoted as champions of the National League South – and the pitch invasion was the release of emotion from all Worthing fans who had witnessed heartbreak at the end of the previous three seasons.
Let’s go back to the summer of 2025. Chris Agutter had signed a contract extension but we were facing the start of the season after exiting the play-offs with a whimper and a bit of anxiety over whether we could push for promotion for the fourth season in a row.
An opening day draw against Bath preceded an exciting ‘A24 derby’ at Horsham where Worthing came from two behind to win 4-3. A Horsham team featuring many former Rebels meant victory felt sweeter than usual. Maybe this win was the one that would kick start the season? Unfortunately this wasn’t the case and Worthing were sitting 15th in the league at the end of August.
The first really exciting away game was in East London against Dagenham and Redbridge, who would find this Worthing team to be a real thorn in their side over the season. I always find an awayday to the capital when you take the train exciting. A few beers on the train, comparing each others’ ‘meal deal’ breakfasts as well as hopping around a few pubs in the big smoke are often key markers for a great day out.
And this one was sweet after Worthing came away with a 5-2 victory over a team that featured former England international Andy Carroll.
After that high came more lows. A draw away to step four Jersey Bulls meant a winning replay back at Woodside the following week but failure to pick up points against Tonbridge Angels and Maidenhead United left Worthing still 15th at the beginning of October. In some circles it was the first time people really were questioning if Agutter was the man to take the Rebels to step one.
But the biggest shock and surprise was about to come. On October 2, around 6:30pm, just as Jacco, Spencer and I were about to record the latest episode of ‘The Rebel Yell Podcast’ at Woodside, head of media Jude Deedigan told us we may want to hang fire as there was an imminent announcement. The planning we had done for our podcast that night was about to be torn up and thrown in the bin.
‘Club Statement: Chris Agutter’ said the club website. I knew straight away what this was going to say. ‘Aggi’ had left us to join National League side Sutton United. My last memory of Chris was seeing him in the corner of the Woodside Bar, calculating his thoughts. An embrace and a heartfelt goodbye and he was gone with the wind.
So who was going to replace him? We needed to find someone who could take this club to the next step. Ironically Adam Hinshelwood, the man who Aggi replaced, had been relieved of his duties at York City and was available. Obviously fans were putting this all together saying he surely would be our next man.
A 1-0 loss at Maidenhead United and a 7-0 thrashing of Jarvis Brook in the Sussex Senior Cup (under the temporary watch of Dean Hammond) followed and all fans in attendance had the same thoughts in their head regarding Hinsh. However I couldn’t help thinking: Would we want Hinsh back and also, more importantly, would he want to come back?!
We didn’t have long to find those answers, as on October 9 Worthing announced the return of ‘The King’. Hinshelwood had returned to a club where he had already had so much success and he was ready to get working towards his next goal - promotion to the National League.
It was like he had never been away. Seeing him in the dugout in front of the TNT cameras for the FA Cup fourth qualifying round tie against National League outfit Forest Green Rovers brought goosebumps to all in attendance at Woodside that night. But what would happen in the coming weeks would leave Worthing fans in dreamland – 16 matches. 14 wins. 2 losses.
Worthing were ending 2026 in first place. Two points clear. Toppling Hornchurch’s dominance at the top for the first time that season.
Then it came crashing down. Happy New Year they say when the clock strikes midnight in January 1?! It was far from happy for the Rebels as they picked up only one win in nine - which was in the Sussex Senior Cup at Broadbridge Heath.
However frustrating this was, with Worthing dropping to fourth, other teams around us weren’t showing the dominance to create a gap at the top. Most fans thought this had cost the team automatic promotion, but the season was far from over.
A lot of inconsistency in February and March - notable moments included an emphatic comeback against Weston-Super-Mare in diabolical midweek conditions and a Sussex Senior Cup exit to step four side Three Bridges - meant Worthing went into the Easter weekend fixtures against Eastbourne and Dorking (the leaders six points ahead) in second place.
After a below-par performance against strugglers Enfield, which ended in a draw, the goal now surely was to ensure home play-off ties and avoidance of the eliminators by finishing second in the league? Dorking surely were too good to be caught now? Or were they?
Good Friday didn’t start well as the Rebels went behind to an awful deflected goal against Eastbourne Borough, but step up Razzaq Coleman-De Graft and an injury time header from Joe Cook (and equally brilliant celebration) to send the Woodside crowd home happy. Dorking had failed to win so the Easter Monday clash meant one thing - beat Marc White’s Wanderers and we would be top.
After a short drive up the A24, a glorious, sunny day awaited us in the Surrey Hills. A sold out Meadowbank was there to witness what was to be one of the highlights of the season.
In typical Worthing fashion, we didn’t make it easy for ourselves. In an end to end match Dorking had the advantage until another quality strike by Coleman De-Graft drew the sides level. Step up Remiero Moulton. 86 minutes. Edge of the area. Top left hand corner. GOAL! Worthing were heading to the top of the league on goal difference.
The turnaround of all turnarounds. But it was far from over. Hornchurch were hot on our tails with a game in hand and we had to face Dagenham and Redbridge, Maidstone and Ebbsfleet, each of those teams fighting for a play-off place.
We dispatched Dagenham and Redbridge emphatically by putting seven past them, expanding our goal difference. Had anyone said we would put 12 goals past a former Football League team this season, I would have told them where to go!
In the week leading up to Maidstone, Hornchurch failed to win their game in hand, meaning we could secure promotion with an away win at The Gallagher Stadium.
Of course, this didn’t happen. Hornchurch won their game, meaning it went down to the last game of the season. All we had to do was match or better the Urchins’ result to win the league and be promoted as champions.
Saturday arrived. It felt like a play-off final. It felt like the very one two years ago where we were beaten, and heartbroken, by Braintree Town.
A 12.30 kick-off meant the stadium was packed by 11am, with all of the record-breaking 4,002 crowd waiting nervously for kick-off and what could go down in the history books of this great football club.
Ebbsfleet United were still in with a shout of a play-off place, so they were by no means going to make this an easy game. A very nervy first 20 would lead the Fleet to dominate proceedings and go close to scoring as we approached half-time. But just before the interval, a deflected shot by Coleman-De Graft fell into the path of Cook who thundered the ball into the roof of the net, to put one Worthing hand on the trophy. Apps were being checked and Hornchurch were still goalless against Maidenhead United.
A little less than 10 minutes into the second half and Coleman-De Graft curled an effort over the keeper, putting that second hand on the trophy. Where it would stay.
The longest 40 minutes of football was to come and Worthing could have gone even further ahead. The clock was approaching 2.20pm. Injury time was being played but not announced. No-one knew how long left. Chants of ‘We are going up’, ‘Pump it up’ and ‘Championés’ were ringing from the terraces.
Callum Morton was fouled on the break and the referee had called it. The full-time whistle was blown. Worthing were being promoted into the National League for the first time in their history – as champions.
The scenes were something never witnessed. Thousands of fans ran on to the pitch to celebrate this moment with their heroes - the 25/26 Worthing squad. That moment was what dreams were made of.
If you were around Worthing town centre that afternoon, enjoying a day shopping or a drink in one of the many pubs and you didn’t know what was going on, I’m sure you would have been very confused to see a trophy being walked through the town centre, ultimately being filled full of beer and finding its final resting place of the Thieves Kitchen on Warwick Street – where it was held aloft into the early hours of Sunday morning by players and fans alike. This. Is. Non. League.
The 2025/26 season had come to an end for Worthing without having to face the play-offs! A season full of frustrations as well as so many amazing memories. It wouldn’t be worth supporting a team that didn’t bring you this rollercoaster of emotions.
Next year we will be travelling around the country, following the team we love, while visiting teams such as Gateshead, Southend, Woking and Altrincham. That is mind-blowing.
Back to the question I posed myself earlier in the season. Would we want Hinsh back? Course we would, never in doubt! Silly me.
James Easton is one of the hosts of ‘The Rebel Yell Podcast’, the monthly fan podcast for Worthing FC. Keep an eye out on their ‘promotion specials’ podcast series, with episodes dropping over the course of May. Follow them on social media @RebelYellPod