"We always win when it rains."

Walking along Woodside Road, the ‘Beast from the East’ consigned to memory, brought to mind a rather delicious irony. Here we were, on a day where unplayable pitches across the country had put paid to football, about to watch a game courtesy of a 3G pitch which, earlier in the season, had developed flaws which meant that Worthing was one of the few places in the country that couldn’t guarantee you any football. Many opponents of 3G had used the case of the Mackerel Men and their early season travails as some kind of brickbat with which to beat those proponents of the (nearly) all-weather surface, but where’s the betting that without such surfaces at Woodside Road and Parkside (where Grays Athletic were entertaining Bury Town in the North Division) very few of us indeed would have got to see some action today. *

That action, too, was highly anticipated and worth waiting for. Little over a month ago the side from the Sussex coast had travelled to the AGP Arena, home of today’s visitors Billericay Town, and gone down to a not unexpected battering, four second half goals- two each from Adam Cunnington and Sam Deering- leaving them with nothing to show for their efforts. Since then, however, Billericay had lost some of their swagger, with defeats in the league to Leiston and Folkestone Invicta and in the FA Trophy to Wealdstone demonstrating a vulnerability which had been conspicuous by its absence earlier in the campaign. Last weekend owner and co-manager Glenn Tamplin, shocked by his sides performance against the Raider and his cohorts, had resigned from his managerial position, only to reinstate himself a few days later. There may be an element of pantomime about that situation, but it showed that even a side with the undoubted quality of the Blues could suffer from a crisis. Many of those attracted to Woodside Road today, a number of whom were irregular visitors, were attracted by the hope of seeing that crisis continue. Worthing, who to be fair are never short of home backing, had even more of it than usual.

Mind you, if being a point ahead at the top of the league with seven games in hand prior to kick off is a crisis, all of our clubs will want one of their own.

The dire days of early season had been consigned to history for the home side. From being seemingly marooned at the bottom, their return to Woodside Road after two months as wandering nomads (if playing home matches at Bognor can be described as nomadic) and the return of Adam Hinshelwood as manager had seen a dramatic upturn in their fortunes, and they now sat seven points clear of relegation. That didn’t make them safe, and Hinshelwood was quite aware of that, but given their position in the autumn it remained rather remarkable. Back in October, when we covered their cup match with Lowestoft Town, Supporters Association Secretary Gary suggested that they’d need 40 points to stay up, and expressed his confidence that they’d get them. If he’s right, a win today and another against Staines Town on Tuesday would propel them over the line.

Actually, and in hindsight, that would not only be remarkable- it should guarantee that Hinshelwood and owner George Dowell are Worthing’s men of the year.

To add another twist to today’s match, since their last match against Billericay Worthing had won two and drawn one of their four matches. The two sides they defeated? Leiston and Folkestone Invicta. The two sides who Billericay have lost to recently? You’ve worked that out already, haven’t you! Two teams with ten points from their last six games made the contest seem much closer than it might have done had you just looked at the team sheet.

The team sheet did, however, show the difference between these two clubs. Both owners, Dowell and Tamplin, have invested large amounts of cash in their facilities- and great credit is due to both of them for that, the results are magnificent. At that point, however, the comparison stops. Worthing’s side was full of home grown talent, with the odd interloper. Billericay’s was full of the best Non-League players that money can buy. Dowell has a five-year plan to get to National League South. Tamplin wants it now- and nobody would bet against him getting it, either.

Half an hour before the match the biggest problem was finding a home supporter to interview. The first two approached admitted to being fans of Eastbourne Borough, whose match at Bath City was called off, and who also admitted to being worried that Bognor Regis Town and Whitehawk were going to get relegated and leave them without a local derby next year. The next two were supporters of Tonbridge Angels, who took a pragmatic view of their clubs recent budget cut, before three Crawley Town fans wandered past looking lost. Whitehawk fans then turned up, followed by Brighton fans, followed by a Bognor fan who admitted that he’d come in the hope of seeing Billericay lose but wouldn’t give his name in case he was “slaughtered for supporting Worthing, even if only for a day.” Eventually, however, as the time ticked around towards kick off and the Rebels (we couldn’t find anyone who described themselves as a Mackerel man) began to drift into the stadium from the local pubs and the club bar, we happened upon Julian and Dave. Asked to describe the season so far, they were both very much glass-three-quarters-full.

“It was awful to start with, but the turning point came when we got back to Woodside Road and Adam came in as manager. Before that we were short on confidence and there was a bad atmosphere around the team- there were lots of outsiders who didn’t have an affinity with the club, and it showed.” There was, at this point, a glance at the sky, which was filled with cloud. “We always win when it rains.”

Moving on to talk about the fight against relegation, they were again unequivocal. “We were never going down. We were always sure that, once we got back here, we’d pick up enough points to stay up comfortably.”

Asked about their hopes for today, Julian predicted a 2-1 victory, Dave 3-1, before Dave added, “hopefully we’ll play so well that their manager will sack himself!”

The manager in question wasn’t here today, reportedly having a brief holiday away from the cold, but Billericay supporters were out in force and remained optimistic despite recent form- and why wouldn’t they. Allan and Reg were quite sure that the recent form was anything but a crisis.

“It’s been a brilliant season, one to compare favourably with any in our history. We had a good run in the ‘70’s, winning the FA Vase repeatedly, but even that doesn’t compare with watching players of this quality evert week. And the stadium is quite magnificent- even if Glenn was to walk away tomorrow he’d leave us with facilities that are second to none.” There was much affection, if a level of pragmatism, about Mr Tamplin. “We’re hardly having a crisis, and we were always going to lose occasionally. Perhaps Glenn doesn’t help himself, he’s so desperate to win that he sometimes reacts badly when that doesn’t happen and gets drawn into arguments, but he’s done great things here and we’re grateful.” They went on to predict a 3-1 win (Allan) and a 2-2 draw (Reg), before realising that they needed to change ends and wandering off into the light drizzle that he just begun to fall.

The teams emerged, and both sets of supporters, now crammed behind each goal, decided to have a singing contest- a contest which continued for much of the first half. In honesty for the first forty-five minutes the contest on the terraces was perhaps as enthralling as that on the field. Both sides worked hard, closed down quickly, and occasionally got rather feisty- which forced referee Lewis Sandoe to produce a number of yellow cards- but there was a lack of end product at both ends despite some nice approach play, whilst off the pitch the followers in red and in blue engaged in some friendly banter. The Worthing Away Boys (perhaps they should change their name when at home) asserted rather obviously that they’d “rather be a rebel than a rock” (indeed they even had a flag with this written on it in case they forgot the words), whilst the away fans countered with a version of “She’ll be coming round the mountain” and complained that Worthing weren’t singing (they were). “Where were you when you were…not very good (paraphrasing slightly here),” sang the Worthing multitudes. “To be fair,” said a Worthing fan on the sidelines, “most of our lot weren’t here when we were…not very good, either!”

Seven minutes before half time the drizzle turned into something rather more biblical, and most of those who weren’t under cover scurried to find some. The main result of that was to improve the atmosphere tenfold in the second half, as large amounts of the 1163 in attendance found themselves under a low tin roof and able to generate far more noise. The second half gave them much to make a noise about.

Immediately after the restart, with the rain still pouring down, it became apparent that both sides had decided to throw caution to the wind. Both soon had chances, too, with Billy Bricknell and Sam Deering having efforts for the visitors, whilst Jared Rance should perhaps have done better for Worthing when the ball found him at the back post and he decided to move it inside rather than shoot. This gave Worthing some impetus. A great run from the impressive Reece Meekums ended with Alan Julian touching the ball wide at full stretch, and the corner was hooked just over by Danny Barker- and then the action was at the other end, Bricknell denied once more. Billericay tried to overpower the home defence, but it held out, Barker and Alfie Young particularly superb as Bricknell headed another chance wide. Then it was Worthing’s turn, a short from Jesse Starkey pushed wide by Julian, and the noise level lifted once more, laughter, singing and drumming echoing around the terrace. There had to be a breakthrough soon. There was, and it was wonderful to watch.

In the seventy first minute, after more Billericay pressure, Worthing regained possession deep in their own half. There were no wild clearances, just an attempt to pass out of trouble, and this turned defence into attack very quickly. Zack Newton, looking a new player after his return to Woodside Road, provided a pinpoint pass for substitute Kieron Pamment to run on to, but there was still much to do. He did it brilliantly, however, finishing past Julian into the corner as the crowd went apoplectic with joy. Imagine, then, their reaction three minutes later when the same player, collecting a rebound from a Newton shot on the edge of the area, looked up, noted the positions of goalkeeper and defender, and then lifted the ball gracefully over them. We watched, mesmerised, as it dropped over the line and into the back of the net, and the players ran to Pamment and celebrated as if they were at Wembley and it was a cup final. If ever a goal deserved to win a football match, this was it.

Whether it would win the match, however was open to question, as within a minute Billericay had one back, Jake Robinson heading home to half the deficit. Deering then came close to an equaliser, leaving the home defence flat footed for once as he hared towards the corner of the box and then fired a shot which ended up on top of the net as those in red held their breath. “Goodness, they can be magnificent if they want to be,” sighed a Worthing supporter into his beer, but sadly for the blue hordes not enough of them seemed to want to be. There was no lack of endeavour, but there was a lack of end product, and as the game moved towards a close it was Worthing who came closest to scoring, a wonderful cross from Meekums diverted out for a corner by a desperate lunge as Pamment looked to claim a hat trick. Billericay applied pressure as the game ebbed to a close, but it was Worthing who were able to celebrate- and how did they celebrate.

Three league defeats in a row is unprecedented for this seasons Billericay Town, as well as being unexpected. Allan and Reg were undoubtedly right about this not being a crisis- this result still leaves them a point clear with six games in hand, after all- but a home defeat against Dulwich Hamlet on Tuesday night might- depending on Margate’s result at Leiston- leave them ending the evening in third place. Would that be a crisis? Perhaps a small one.

Whilst this result doesn’t guarantee safety for Worthing, you have to say that this is a side that has the look of one in the top six rather than the bottom six. The work Hinshelwood has done since his return is beginning to look rather miraculous. Yes, it can be argued that many teams raise their game when playing the league leaders, and it can also undoubtedly be argued that Billericay are having a bad spell, but the truth remains that only four clubs in the Bostik Premier Division have picked up more points over the last ten games than Hinsh and his Mackerel Men.

Today Worthing recorded a deserved victory which those who watched it will be talking about for years to come. Perhaps both owners here may see their plans come to fruition in the near future- although one of them might have to resist the urge to sack himself again when he sees the result.

*A special mention to the fifty volunteers who turned out at Folkestone Invicta to clear the snow from the pitch and get the game on. A truly magnificent effort.