Omar's arrived! Worthing boss praises impact of ex-Norwich striker

Omar Koroma gets a spot of manhandling from a Swindon opponent while with Forest Green / Picture: Getty

The former Norwich and Forest Green centre forward, also known as OJ, scored one on his debut at East Thurrock and two at Potters Bar as Worthing notched another two away wins to go three points clear at the top of the Isthmian premier.

Koroma, who has played four times for Gambia, is one of two experienced players added to the ranks by Hinshelwood in the past couple of weeks – the other being centre-half Danny Pappoe.

The manager felt he needed a couple more ‘older heads’ in the side because the likes of Aarran Racine, Alex Parsons and Darren Budd have been unavailable.

So far the additions have worked a treat, with goals by Joel Colbran, Mo Diallo and Koroma seeing off East Thurrock 3-1 and Koroma’s double turning a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 win at Potters Bar.

Hinshelwood said: “It’s been a great week. The past couple of wins have been pleasing from a number of aspects. At East Thurrock we had to play the last half-hour with ten men after Cam (Tutt) was sent off and we showed resilence and actually scored another goal. It was disappointing to let one in at the end.

“At Potters Bar the pitch was heavy in places and they were well-organised and had good shape. We went 1-0 down but showed battling spirit and kept our belief. We had to be patient.

“We sent on Jesse Starkey and Dayshonne Golding, and it’s great to have players like that on the bench, and we turned it round.”

Hinshelwood said he had been keeping tabs on 31-year-old Koroma for a while and was delighted when he became available from Carshalton. The manager said his and Pappoe’s football nous could be crucial to his team.

“Experience is crucial in our league and I felt we were a bit short of it,” he said. “Now we have a core squad of 17, plus some great young players who we’ve allowed to go out on loan to get some minutes.”

Well-travelled Worthing hit the road twice more in the next week.

They make the trek to Leiston in the FA Trophy and go to Three Bridges in the Sussex Senior Cup on Tuesday.