A bright start for the visitors saw Dom Hutchinson open the scoring with a deft finish inside ten minutes, however the National League South champions would be pegged back by a resilient Enfield side courtesy of Nana Kyei’s second half strike.
The Rebels dominated possession through the opening exchanges, and would earn themselves the lead with just under seven minutes on the clock.
Picking up a loose ball on the right flank deep inside the Enfield half, Ollie Godziemski bided his time before utilising Hutchinson’s run into the area with an deft ball in behind. Despite having only a slight angle on the target, the former Wealdstone man produced a tidy finish across goal which nestled home with help from the upright.
The visitors’ subsequent offensive advances came few and far between through to halftime, with
their best chance at a second falling to Wiktor Makowski who steered wide following a wayward back-pass by Town midfielder Declan Rydings.
Billy Holland’s hosts showed a positive reaction in the minutes following the opener, twice stretching the Worthing backline with testing passes in behind which required timely interventions from George Cox and Harry Ransom respectively.
The first action of the game for Taylor Seymour came with just over 30 minutes on the clock following the Towners’ most promising passage of the half. A stray pass into midfield by the Sussex Cat was pounced upon by the hosts, with Thomas Avgoustidis seeing an eventual effort blocked by Ransom. Keeping the attack alive, Enfield worked a cross into the box from the right flank which was headed into Seymour’s gloves by a home Trialist.
Enfield could not have come much closer to an equaliser three minutes after the interval. The adventurous run of Billy Leonard down the right hand side was picked out with ease, affording Leonard the chance to cut back to a host of suitors arriving in the box. Meeting the pass was Avgoustidis, whose first time effort was vitally deflected onto the post by the outstretched leg of Seymour.
Worthing’s blushes were spared once again thanks to the quick reactions of their goalkeeper just after the hour. A loose pass behind the Reds’ defensive unit allowed Amrit Bansal-McNulty the chance to catch Seymour off his line from 35 yards, with the Rebels’ number one backpedalling fast enough to parry the looping effort to safety.
The hosts’ continued pressure on the away goal eventually reaped its reward with twenty minutes to play. An initial effort by Leonard on the right side of the penalty area was parried away into a dangerous area by Seymour, with second half substitute Kyei reacting quickest to blast home from close-range.
Five minutes after levelling the score, the home side had two big chances to take the lead merely seconds apart. Adjudged to have timed his run correctly, Leonard latched onto a direct ball forward to send him one-on-one. With Leonard having first rolled an effort against the foot of the ‘keeper’s left post, the ball was reworked into the box where the forward glanced a header agonisingly wide of Seymour’s right-hand post.
Hinshelwood’s side enjoyed patches of attacking action to see out the game, with the Rebels’ best chance of restoring their advantage falling to Fin Smith at the back post, where the substitute was smothered in his attempts to convert a dinked cross from the far side.
The Rebels continue their pre-season schedule back on home turf in midweek with the visit of Brighton & Hove Albion U21s to the Sussex Transport Community Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Originally published by Worthing FC ↗