Regent welcomed league leaders Worthing back to North Road for the first time since January 2020 when Coronavirus was a word we were first hearing about and not realising the effect it would have on our lives.

Only Charlie Turner remained from the Regent line up that day and George, Littlejohn, Ribchester and Miskin lined up in front of him with Skinner, Gilbert, Locke, Barnby and the Rocha brothers playing a fluid system up front.

From the off Worthing showed why they are runaway leaders of the league. Well organised with a team of big athletic players they play at pace and pass with purpose. Regent kicked off and they had to take it again because Worthing were already looking to get possession of the ball. In American football they would have been called for a false start and we would have moved five yards up the pitch but even that advantage was denied.

The early exchanges were marked by some intense defending by Regent in which both Kane Gilbert and Ribchester were booked and occasional breakaways – one of which saw Dom Locke pulled down in the penalty area but which the officials did not regard as an offence.

After surviving well for 30 minutes Worthing’s approach of running at and through the defence paid off when they won a free-kick centrally outside the penalty area. They lined up three options, one centrally and the others threatening the top left and top right of the goal. With the wall covering the left and Turner mainly covering the centre of the goal Oliver Pearce slotted the ball into the top right corner of the goal.

Almost immediately Regent had a chance to equalise when Connor Barnby got clear and tried to chip the ball over the onrushing ‘keeper but put the ball over the bar.

Worthing seemed happy to simply play the ball around for the rest of the half and wait for an opening but they were denied by some further intense defending and some loose finishing which saw the ball go wide.

Second half
The second half started at an even higher tempo than the first one ended and the pattern of Worthing pressurising and Regent creating some half chances which were often closed down robustly by the Worthing defenders continued.

After an hour’s play Worthing won a corner on their right and a well delivered cross found Oliver Pearce unmarked at the back post who rose well and headed the ball firmly down into the ground to score his second. Once again, a well taken set piece had made the difference.

At 2-0 down Regent possibly played their best football of the game, trying to pass through the Worthing defence and Connor Barnby was unfortunate to see a good turn and snapshot well saved by the Worthing keeper.

After 76 minutes Worthing put the game to bed when they got away down the left and finally managed to score an outfield goal to make it 3-0.

Regent were clearly tiring from the intense nature game and Worthing remained adept at making sure that any possible threats were snuffed out in areas far away from any danger.

Match Verdict
Whilst this was a result which doesn’t help their league position Regent can be encouraged by their showing against what is probably the best footballing side in the League. They played with organisation and intensity to keep Worthing at bay for long periods. In the middle of the park Carlos Rocha provided some creative spark and up front Connor Barnby, Valter Rocha and Dom Locke all provided a goalscoring threat.

A trip to Merstham next Saturday and the visit of East Thurrock on Boxing Day will provide more likely opportunities to move away from the danger zone at the bottom of the league.

By Paul Ketchley