Worthing 2, Aveley 1

AVELEY were denied any reward, other than positive vibes, from a hard-working, determined performance in the Vanarama National League South at high-flying Worthing on Tuesday (5 November) when they were beaten by a goal deep in added time.

Even the hosts described the performance of Millers, who remain at the foot of the table, as 'superb' and there was a common view that the result was unjust.

But that's often the way things go at the foot of the table when a team is struggling for results. After Saturday's home defeat by Weymouth there were some rumblings of discontent among Millers fans, but manager Danny Scopes said he believed his players came out and countered that with a performance to be proud of in Sussex on Tuesday.

After the match he said: ""I know there was a lot of doubters on Saturday in terms of their fight but their effort and how committed they were today shows they are fighting for the club and they are fighting for the team and we have to take that as a positive, There's no points for that but it's a positive to move forward with."

That's a feeling shared by the Worthing match reporter who gave this description of the Millers' efforts: "Aveley are a side struggling, slipping. But upbeat in the saloon of their sinking ship. They gave a fine account of themselves.

"Were they unfortunate to head home without any points? Quite possibly. Their performance in the second half, for a team battling at the bottom, was superb. They displayed spirit, mettle and quality. A recipe for avoiding relegation."

Millers gave a good account of themselves from the off.

Though were set up defensively they were ready to counter at any opportunity and several times had the home side stretched, though they were unable to make a breakthrough and in the end, on 41 minutes it was Worthing who broke the deadlock from the penalty spot.

Jack Wadham was prominent for Worthing with a number of shots, mostly beaten away by the hard-working Millers and keeper Carey Bloedorn, who also had his post to thank when Tommy Willard crashed a shot goalwards.

Ultimately it took the referee's intervention when Mo Faal went down under a challenge in the box and Danny Cashman delivered the opening goal with a well-struck penalty.

The table after Tuesday's matches.

Undaunted Aveley came out strongly in the second half and pushed Worthing backwards and just two minutes after the restart they were level when Razzaq Coleman De-Graft skipped past three defenders before placing his effort past keeper Chris Haigh to perfection.

Worthing made a number of changes after the hour in a bid to test Aveley's resolve but it looked as the visitors would hold out until, two minutes into six minutes of added time, one of the subs,  Harrison Smith, drove forward and fired the ball home to spark jubilation among the majority of a crowd of 1,032 - while the travelling Aveley contingent could only shake their heads and wonder when the footballing gods are going to give them a break.

Millers will go again on Saturday (9 November) and will have home advantage against mid-table Borham Wood.