Woe at Wealdstone spells end of Rebels’ Cup hopes

Following an evenly-contested first 45 minutes, goals from Ronan Maher, Fejiri Okenabirhie and Luke Norris put the tie beyond doubt in a lacklustre second half showing from the away side.

Adam Hinshelwood made seven changes to the side which started in the 2-1 defeat to Ipswich Town U21s in the National League Cup with Joe Cook, Dom Hutchinson, Ricky Aguiar and Harvey Griffiths the only retained starters.

Taylor Seymour, Joel Colbran, Jayden Moore and Charlie Waller returned to the defensive regiment, while Jack Wadham, Razzaq Coleman De-Graft and Cory Adjetey-Brew made up the rest of the side.

Suspension for Wealdstone keeper Dante Baptiste meant an immediate call-up for Salford City loanee Sam Long, and the 20-year-old did not have to wait long for his first involvement.

Strong pressure from Hutchinson forced Dion Conroy into a poorly-weighted pass inside his own box. Good anticipation from Adjetey-Brew allowed Worthing bodies to join the attack, with an eventual effort from Wadham at the edge of the box falling into the hands of Long.

Strong winds in Ruislip hindered both sides in keeping the play on the ground, with the majority of chances at either end coming as a result of picking up scraps from long balls. A floated pass in behind the Wealdstone defence saw Conroy once again hassled by Hutchinson approaching his own byline.

Upon winning the ball back high the former Stone picked out Aguiar at the edge of the box, whose first-time effort on his weaker side curled just over the bar.

At the other end, Okenabirhie came up with the hosts’ best chance of the half with five minutes of regulation time remaining. Loose play from Wadham just outside his own box allowed Okenabirhie to size up an attempt from a central position. A strong effort forced Seymour into a low stop down to his right, marking the hosts’ best opening of the half.

Ten minutes into the second half a trio of attacking changes were made by the travelling Rebels, with Emmerson Sutton, Charley Kendall and Jordan Young all brought on to revitalise the Worthing attack. However, within moments of the alterations taking place, it was the home side who found the opening goal.

A passage down the right-hand side found the infield run of Maher, who shifted on to his left side before curling a looping effort beyond Seymour’s reach into his top right corner from 25 yards out.

It took only minutes for the deficit to be doubled, with Okenabirhie profiting from a lapse in concentration from the visiting defence. A challenge on Sutton in midfield saw the Worthing backline halt their play in anticipation of the referee’s whistle. With referee Sam Mulhall seeing no offence in the play, Okenabirhie was allowed to drive unchallenged through the Rebels defence and drill past Seymour low to his right.

The Rebels’ FA Cup fate was all but sealed with 64 minutes on the clock, as another defensive mistake gifted Wealdstone their third of the afternoon. A fizzed pass through the spine of Worthing’s midfield travelled all the way through to Moore as the last outfield player. With Norris lurking, missed contact on the ball from the on-loan Southampton defender sent the forward bearing down on goal.

Norris showed composure to round Seymour and finish into an empty net, rounding off a horror ten-minute spell for the visitors.

Half-chances for Adjetey-Brew and Young made up the best of the Rebels’ attempts to get on the scoresheet, the former striking the foot of the post having latched onto Kendall’s flick round the corner with 20 minutes to play.

Ultimately, the quick-fire second-half flurry from Gary Waddock’s side went uncontested as Worthing missed the chance to progress into the First Round Proper of the FA Cup.