Worthing FC boss: We were on floor after Dorking draw – but we’ll fight all way on title d-day

In a crazy National South title run-in, the Rebels returned to top spot with a point at Eastbourne Borough on Friday – then slipped three places with an identical result at home to Wanderers on Monday.

It demonstrated a fiercely competitive race that brings Saturday’s final round of games with SIX teams able to take the title and sole automatic promotion spot.

Sides ending second and third will go straight into home play-off semi-finals but those fourth to seventh face an eliminator to qualify as the away teams for those semis.

At Eastbourne, Worthing had Aarran Racine sent off – a red card they have appealed over – before Glen Rea put them ahead, only for Alfie Pavey to level.

Versus Dorking, Jack Spong fired the Rebels in front but a Lucas Covolan mistake handed Alfie Rutherford the equaliser.

Worthing and Eastbourne are both on 85 points but Truro and Torquay are on 86, with Boreham Wood and Dorking on 83. None play each other on Saturday, when Worthing go to Enfield.

Agutter said: “We were on the floor after the Dorking game, all of us.

"On Friday I was the proudest I’ve been of this team after the display at Eastbourne. With ten men, we might have won against a very good team. But it was good to be back on top with our fate in our own hands.

"Monday was the opposite feeling, really. Again, we’d played well – we should have gone 2-0 or 3-0 up in the first half – but then we’ve made another big mistake in a big game. We’ve done that too often.

"Now the title isn’t in our hands – but if ever there was a season when there could be mental last-day results, this is it. We have to go to Enfield and get the win to give us the best chance if others slip up.

"If it doesn’t work out then it’s the play-offs and we’ll be up for those. We’ve still got a very good head-to-head record against the other top teams.

"The players have been brilliant and I want to focus on that ahead of Saturday. We all want the same outcome.”

Brilliant fans will back us all way

Chris Agutter praised the quantity and quality of the Worthing support backing the team’s push for promotion – and said fans could still help get them over the line.

The Rebels took hundreds to Eastbourne last Friday and although a lack of segregation caused some flashpoints, Agutter felt the Rebels fans made it feel like a home game.

Then on Monday, a crowd only eight short of 3,000 piled into Woodside Road for the crucial clash with Dorking.

Rebels fans will be at Enfield in good numbers on Saturday and Agutter knows he can rely on them again if it’s a play-off campaign that follows.

"The fans have been unbelievable,” said Agutter.

"The backing they’re giving us home and away is phenomenal and it really is appreciated by all of us.

"We want to see loads of them at Enfield and I’m sure they’ll be there in huge numbers if we end up in play-off games.”

Agutter has selection problems for the trip to North London. Unless Aarran Racine’s red card is overturned, he will miss the next three – the same trio of games defender Sam Beard will sit out after racking up 15 bookings.

Captain Joel Colbran is being checked after an impact injury and Danny Cashman looks to be out for the rest of the campaign with a hamstring injury.

But Agutter said: “We have a strong squad and we have others who can come in and do well. It’s a great opportunity for some to grab the headlines.”