Trophy was well worth waiting for, says boss

Worthing finally got their hands on the Isthmian League silverware – and manager Adam Hinshelwood said it was worth the wait.

The team lifted the trophy after rounding off their Isthmian premier season by scoring their 100th goal and beating Brightlingsea Regent 1-0 in front of more than 2,000 fans.

Afterwards everyone from the club’s owner to the canteen staff got their chance to hold the trophy and have pictures taken as everyone celebrated the successful conclusion to what has effectively been a three-year effort to win the title and promotion to National League South.

Jasper Pattenden’s strike was the team’s 100th league goal of the season and was enough to clinch a remarkable 31st win in 42 league games.

The match itself was almost incidental – the day was all about that much-coveted bit of silverware.

Not that Hinshelwood, his staff and players can now sit back and relax – they have the small matter of a Sussex Senior Cup final against Brighton under-23s next Tuesday, May 10, to start working towards.

Hinshelwood said they’d be ‘massive underdogs’ for the final but would be training hard between now and then to make sure they gave a good account of themselves.

Reflecting on Saturday’s celebrations, Hinshelwood said: “It was great to lift the trophy at last.

“Winning it two weeks ago then not getting our hands on it until Saturday made for a bit of a weird time really. But there were great scenes when we were presented with it.

“It’s reward for everyone’s hard work over a long period – and that’s not just the players, that’s everyone involved in the club.

“It was nice for the trophy to be passed around and for fans, volunteers, people who keep the club going behind the scenes to share in the moment.

“Non-league clubs are nothing without the people who give up so much time in the season helping them function. And that’s what I love about Worthing. Everyone plays their part and there are no egos.”

Owner George Dowell enjoyed grasping the league trophy and posing for photos with relatives.

He tweeted that his family ‘supported me through thick and thin, no matter how crazy the ideas... but yesterday we got to celebrate my craziest plan of all!’.