Worthing boss: We’ve been professional… now we need to be ultra-professional

But another postponement has left the Reds facing a battle to squeeze in all their remaining fixtures.

On Good Friday, Akanbi, Ollie Pearce and Davide Rodari scored two apiece – in an addition to an own goal – as Concord were grounded by a 7-0 Worthing win at Woodside Road. Hopes of building on that were dashed when Easter Monday's game at Cheshunt was washed out.

30 photos as Worthing thump Concord and pay tribute to Morty Hollis.

That leaves Worthing with five league games to play by the end of the regular season on Saturday, April 29 – with no obvious available date within that timeframe for the Cheshunt game to be slotted in.

They also have a Sussex Senior Cup semi-final against Hastings. As things stand that’s due to go ahead at Lancing on Wednesday, April 26.

One solution would be for the cup tie to be put back a week to allow the Cheshunt game to be played on April 25 or 26.

Hinshelwood was delighted by Friday’s big victory and both he and Akanbi highlighted the recent 3-2 win at home to Havant for having given the team new momentum.

The manager said: “We said we wanted to get some momentum after Havant but I thought the first five or ten minutes against Concord were a bit off it.

"We wanted to start brightly because we knew they’d played on Tuesday night, but after that we got into our rhythm and moved the ball really well.”

Akanbi, who scored the third and fourth goals, said: “It was a great win – I think the boys needed that.

"The past month has been tricky for us. The Havant game, we really needed that. It gave us a little boost in confidence. That showed against Concord.

“We had a whole week to prepare for this game as well because last week’s game was cancelled.

"It was a really good win and we outplayed them and gave them nothing – it was a great performance.”

Pearce has now scored 28 this season, while Akanbi’s seven make him third top scorer.

Worthing have two vital matches in the next week. They host fifth-placed Braintree on Saturday then go to Farnborough, in tenth, on Tuesday.

Hinshelwood said his side had been professional all season – but now maybe needed to be ultra-professional and step up another level or two to make sure the end of the season brought rewards.

He told us: “We must look at how actually started quite slowly against Concord and not let it happen again because we might get punished.

"Every game now is so important. It’s going to be a hectic schedule with five games in 15 days and even another one to fit in. We’ll need the whole squad – not just 11 players – and we need to be ultra-professional.

"That’s not to say we’ve not been professional all season; as a group we’ve done very well, but we have worked hard to get to this position in the league and the cup and we need to ramp it up a bit now to make sure the work is not wasted.

"We have Braintree on Saturday, who are in the top five, and Farnborough on Tuesday, who are not far behind us. Both will be tough games.”

Hinshelwood picked out Pearce for praise – he has now scored 28 goals for Worthing, twice as many as anyone else and in a season which started with some thinking his opportunities may be limited by the arrival of ex-Brighton man Jake Robinson.

Robinson of course suffered a serious knee injury in the opening league game and has missed the whole season, opening the door for Pearce and others to grab their chances. And Hinshelwood said he was looking forward to pairing Pearce and Robinson – who is recovering very well after surgery – together next season.

The remarkable thing about Pearce’s recent goals is he has been playing with two broken toes strapped up. He should be fit to continue leading the line against Braintree on Saturday, while midfielder Kane Wills, who suffered a calf problem against Concord, is also expected to be fit.

Cam Tutt is back in training but Lewis White is out for the season with a hamstring injury.