In a game of incredible proportions, Worthing, last season’s National League South playoff finalists, turned the game on its head with a dramatic 96th-minute winner in a seven-goal thriller at the Optima Stadium. 

The hosts, coasting with an almost total dominant first half performance, no-one could envisage what would occur in the second forty-five minutes as an inspirational Danny Cashman performance from the visitors’ midfielder turned the game on its head. 

Earlier, the hosts had threatened to put the game to bed well before half time, turning on a performance that Worthing simply were unable to match. 

Weston forced the pace from the opening whistle, the Sussex side back-peddling for all they were worth, and it came as no surprise when the hosts took the lead on five minutes when a great Luke Coulson free-kick found Emlyn Lewis in space, and the Weston captain made no mistake, crashing home to devastating effect. 

Apart from a brief respite for the visitors, when Glen Rea’s snapshot was turned over the bar by Weston on-loan goalkeeper Will Buse, signed on loan from National League Yeovil Town just twenty-four hours before, the first half totally belonged to the hosts, and they were awarded a penalty kick on twenty minutes after match official Steven Swan spotted an infringement in the eighteen-yard box, Coulson firing home his spot kick low and hard to double the scoreline.  

Weston could well have added to their score on the half hour, but Emlyn Lewis’s thirty-five-yard effort was high over the crossbar. 

Worthing were simply not at the races and cautions for Jack Spong, Danny Cashman and Sam Beard exemplified this.

New Rebels manager Chris Agutter – taking charge of his charges for the first time competitively – must have hoped that fortunes would change for his side but that man Coulson – creating yards of space for himself and his team-mates through his intelligent running both on and off the ball – added a third goal on thirty-seven minutes, chasing down a goalkeeping error, and heading home from yards out.

Half-Time: Weston-super-Mare AFC 3 – 0 Worthing

The second half was an entirely different story however, and with Danny Cashman threatening to run the show single-handedly, Worthing were awarded a free kick just to the right-angled edge of the penalty area, Jack Spong firing home from twenty yards giving the Weston goalkeeper little chance.

It was now Weston’s turn to retreat as the visitors turned on the style and Cashman was on hand to fire home a sixteen-yard effort on seventy minutes.

Worse was to occur for the hosts with fifteen minutes remaining and Spong’s stunning accurate free kick brought the scores level. 

Just when it looked as though the points would be shared and the seconds ticking away, Cashman took the game by the scruff of the neck, darting between two Weston defenders and was upended in the box.  And in literally the last kick of the game, the same player fired past Buse to record the most dramatic of wins for the visitors to send both the players and travelling supporters into raptures. 

Weston now have two successive away games – at Enfield Town next Saturday, 17th August, and Chesham United on Tuesday 20th August before they return to home soil to face Essex-based Chelmsford City on Saturday 24th August. 

Saturday’s result will obviously be a disappointment to many but in general terms this was a very encouraging outing in many respects for Scott Bartlett’s new-look Seagulls, and there will be many positive moments to look forward to during the long season ahead. 

Full-Time: Weston-super-Mare AFC 3 – 4 Worthing (E Lewis 5, Coulson 27 pen, 38; Spong 53, 77, Cashman 71, 90+6 pen)

Weston XI: Buse, Thomas, Pope, Jagger Cane, Dodd, Reid, Waite (Kempster 88), Coulson (Kadji 70), M Lewis (Bastin 70), E Lewis (C), Chamberlain.
Unused substitutes: Crawford, McCootie. 

Attendance: 936.

Man of the match: Luke Coulson. Two goals and an assist to top off an all-round diligent performance.