Bluebirds debutant Mikey Lane and Dom Hutchinson exchanged braces either side of the interval, with both teams spurning chances to seal victory late on following a breathless conclusion to the game.
All three of the Rebels’ midweek signings featured in Adam Hinshelwood’s matchday squad following Tuesday night’s National League Cup tie against Norwich City U21s. Jordan Young and Charlie Waller retained their place in the starting eleven from the scoreless draw, while Charley Kendall was named amongst the substitutes. QPR loanee Harvey Boddy also joined the bench for his first appearance in a league squad this season.
Adam Murray’s Barrow arrived in West Sussex with renewed confidence having picked up their first league victory of the season last weekend, yet it was the hosts who started on top through the first quarter of an hour.
Ricky Aguiar produced the game’s first on-target effort in the 14th minute; good defending from Joel Colbran allowed the Rebels to break out down the right flank, with Coleman De-Graft picking out Young’s forward run.
The former Torquay United man set up Aguiar for a shot from 25 yards out, however his side-footed strike would be claimed easily by Bluebirds’ ‘keeper Ben Winterbottom.
For all of Worthing’s early forward exploits, it was the visitors’ first meaningful inroads into the home penalty area that yielded the opening goal of the game after 20 minutes. A smart turn by on- loan Fleetwood striker Lane up against Jayden Moore at the edge of the box sent the forward bearing down on goal.
Having scampered goalward to meet his touch, Lane’s initial effort squirmed under the body of Taylor Seymour in the Worthing net, allowing him to slot home at the second time of asking.
A head injury suffered by Jose Marquez in the earlier exchanges meant the striker was forced to be removed with half an hour played. Coming on in his place was Kendall, who in the 38th minute, produced the hosts’ first attacking response to going behind.
Breaking into the box through the left channel, Kendall shifted the ball onto his left side before fizzing a shot towards Winterbottom’s near right post, with the Bluebirds stopper able to turn the effort behind for a corner.
For the Reds, their ability to turn possession into forward passages soon diminished in a fractured end to the first 45 minutes, and with only a minute of stoppage time remaining at the end of the half, Lane went on to grab his and his side’s second of the game.
Profiting on a defensive lapse just outside the area with huge suspicions of a foul on Charlie Waller, Lane picked up possession just ahead of the penalty spot before calmly rolling an effort past a rooted Seymour which crept inside his left post.
In need of a response following a chaotic first half conclusion, it took just minutes for Worthing to have their first look at goal after the break. A poor ball into midfield by Winterbottom was sent immediately into the path of Young who had broken ahead of the Barrow backline.
With Woodside Road expecting the net to bulge, Young’s effort landed inches wide of the post.
Despite failing to convert from what was the hosts best chance of the afternoon, the home contingent did not have to wait much longer for the Reds to get on the scoresheet. A fluid attacking phase culminated in Kendall rerouting the ball into the path of Hutchinson, who took two strides into the box before dinking the ball over Winterbottom on its way into the Barrow goal.
Seven minutes after halving the deficit, the hosts were spared from catastrophe thanks to quick decision-making by Aguiar. A risky decision by Seymour to come all the way out of goal into the Barrow half was almost punished after his attempt to loft the ball back into the final third was charged down at source.
With Seymour stranded and no one defending the goal-line, Aguiar’s intentional foul on Lane prevented the forward from sizing up a long-distance attempt on goal, preventing the Reds’ work from being cheaply undone at the expense of a yellow card.
Aguiar’s selfless play would be rewarded just after the hour mark, with the Rebels restoring parity through Hutchinson’s second goal of the half. The former Wealdstone man spotted an opening in the Barrow backline, and after getting on the receiving end of Kendall’s infield pass, the midfielder sized up the onrushing Winterbottom before placing a low effort into the back of the net.
Hutchinson’s game-tying brace put Worthing firmly on the front foot, forcing the travelling Cumbrians into a defensive setup for the vast majority of the second half.
Efforts by Kendall and a narrowly-wide free-kick attempt by Coleman De-Graft made up the best of the Reds chances to
complete the turnaround approaching the end of regulation time.
With seconds of the 90 to play, both teams had major opportunities to go in front. For Barrow, a passage just outside the home penalty area eventual sat up for substitute Seb Thompson to take on the strike, forcing Seymour to get down quickly to divert the strike away from goal.
Turning defence into attack, the Rebels got out on the counter against a depleted Barrow defence. Moving the ball from right to left, Cory Adjetey-Brew finally played Kendall through on goal, yet the former Southend man would be denied a late winner by the widespread frame of Winterbottom.
A point apiece in a breathless affair at Woodside Road leads the Reds nicely into Tuesday’s nights action against fellow promoted outfit Hornchurch at the Sussex Transport Community Stadium.
Originally published by Worthing FC ↗