With the games coming thick and fast, Webber and Will Seager earned recalls to the starting line-up while Barker kept his place, meaning Tom Chalaye was on the bench where he was joined by Ty Mthunzi and Dean Cox.

As with Saturday’s FA Trophy victory at Chertsey Town, the opening forty-five were pretty much nondescript and the respective goalkeepers, Ben Goode and Harrison Male were virtual spectators.

Worthing’s only real chance of note arrived after eleven minutes; Cam Tutt’s byline cross caused no end of problems for the hosts, as Ollie Pearce, Jasper Pattenden and finally Dajon Golding all had efforts blocked by the Blue’s backline, before the danger was eventually cleared.

The home side responded a quarter-of-an-hour later via Aarran Racine’s inadvertent shoulder-chest being intercepted by Luke Ifil on the left. He supplied Alphanso Kennedy who broke into the penalty area, only to curl his attempt over the target.

Reds attacked from the off at the commencement of the second-half, with Golding embarking on a driving run to the byline, followed by a low delivery into the danger zone that was turned over the top, with the aid of a deflection, by Reece Myles-Meekums.

Meeky was involved again within a minute as he did well to regain possession, allowing Jesse Starkey to try his luck from distance but unfortunately the midfielder/winger managed to clear the crossbar and The Harvey Ackerman Stand. The matchball landing somewhere near the North Circular.

However, the deadlock was broken thanks to two goals, in fact, in less than sixty seconds, shortly afterwards.

Firstly, Webber got on the end of Starkey’s left-sided corner to power a downward header into the back of the net, to open his account for the season and indeed for the Seniors, since his return to the club in the Summer.

Wingate hadn’t long kicked-off again before a long pass down the right wing from Seager led to Myles-Meekums latching onto it, racing away and slotting home a quick-fire second.

With their tails now well and truly up, a third duly arrived not long past the hour mark.

The home team failed to get rid of a ball that had started it’s journey via a Myles-Meekums flag-kick on the right, which gave Starkey the opportunity to recycle it, the North Londerner’s rearguard to clear, though only as far as Barker on the edge of the eighteen yard box. He duly dispatched a low shot into the bottom corner as he too got on the scoresheet for the first time this term.

If anyone thought the game was over at that point, they were given a wake-up call moments later when a fiercely-struck effort by Sam Hatton, twenty to twenty-five yards out, required a fine, flying save from the previously untroubled Male, at the expense of a corner. Just to add to his growing reputation, he punched that well clear of trouble to boot.

Reds reacted the only way they knew how with Pattenden, just outside the area, working room for a goalbound attempt that also ended up as a corner-kick.

Despite finding themselves three-nil down, a valiant retaliation produced a heart-in-mouth reaction from the travelling masses.

Pat Webber brought down Ibrahim Meite as he bore down on goal. Although the former Ipswich Town and Wigan Athletic man looked to have been saved by the fact that the host’s centre-forward still had a reasonable amount of ground to cover before even thinking about a shot. The subsequent set-piece was comfortably dealt with by Male as Bilal Sayoud sought a way back into the game for his side.

He didn’t have to wait much longer.

Not, though, before an outrageous flick by Myles-Meekums released Pearce into the penalty box, where Captain and custodian Goode lived up to his name by denying the in-form forward.

Unfortunately, it ultimately came too late to be rendered anything other than a consolation.

Although, in fairness he fired a real rocket into the roof of the net, off the underside of the crossbar to bag the goal of the game.

An additional four minutes of stoppage brought about a final flourish for each team.

A through ball by Webber, after he’d broken up a counter-attack and played a slide-rule pass for Pearce to take on and see his attempted curler blocked, was soon succeeded by Sayoud trying to double his and the Maurice Rebak Stadium outfit’s tally; only for the number ten to create space for a shot that he sliced horribly wide.