With 87 minutes played, a booming voice arrived on the tannoy. It was to announce Weymouth goalkeeper Will Buse as Man of the Match. Firstly, yes. Secondly, it’s quite the feat when you haven’t kept a clean sheet. It was a stunning performance between the posts from the 23-year-old, who preserved his side’s 1-0 deficit with a string of fine saves all the way until they levelled, and then kept that scoreline in-tact, too.

Wins at Dorking Wanderers in the league and Sholing in the FA Cup corrected Weymouth’s campaign somewhat. After defeats in their opening seven league matches had placed The Terras rock-bottom before this mini-revival, though they were still yet to register a goal on home soil prior to today’s proceedings.

Agutter had touched on transition following last week’s cup dramatics, where too often his team have moved the ball without penetration, without pace. Here, though, in the opening half at least, it was a different story. One that began with an urgency, and one that saw Danny Cashman crash the ball brilliantly into the netting from all of 20 yards.

But as the game grew and the hosts began to penetrate further up the field, they could sense a route back into contention. It came in agonising circumstances, as a firmly hit free-kick dipped in front of Chris Haigh, who couldn’t keep it out.

There were even chances, late on, for Weymouth to hit the jackpot. Haigh had to be at his best, so did Buse. A game of two goalkeepers, both wandering off the field having slapped hands, a point richer.

It was a mid-block, pretty much a 5-3-2 out of possession, with Nicky Wheeler and Sam Packham roving the wings, running the channels. It gave Cashman the freedom to drive, to turn, to make the heads spin. He is a wonderful player, and there were times in this opening half where he simply looked too good for this division. Probably because he is.

The opening goal was something out of a National League Best Goals Compilation. And he made it look so easy. Seven seconds after Haigh had driven the ball forward from his own box, Worthing had scored. Tommy Willard with an exquisite touch to set, and the vision to find Cashman was adroit. Then, it was all about Cashman. A little shimmy onto his left foot opens up the space, and the strike is inch-perfect. Angling it into the far corner in the most effortless of actions, it sent Worthing into an early advantage. No chance for Buse.

Yet this was not the routine half Agutter would have hoped for. Time and time again Weymouth would send the ball high over the Rebels’ backline, and time and time again Haigh was put into a panic as he looked to judge the speed of the pitch in a split second. It placed the pressure on a defence that were fortunate to not see their own net rumble. Haigh even received a yellow for handling outside the box. A post clanked and a crossbar doinked, but Worthing would ride their luck and still cause troubles of their own.

This is where Buse’s brilliance shone: first denying Mo Faal’s dipping, swirling drive before tipping Cashman’s curling effort around the post moments later. The first half ended and Worthing were in the lead, though the game was an open one and there was a match still to be won out there.

The hosts were a much more potent force in the second half: the full-backs getting further forward, shifting the ball with speed through midfield and generally looking like a team with ambition, less content simply to sit and wait for Worthing to attack.

But it was Buse who shone brightest under the warm Dorset sun. Willard drilled a shot low that was blocked into the path of Faal, who did everything right. It had the height, had the pace but somehow Buse steadied himself to produce the definition of goalkeeping magic: somehow diverting it over the crossbar.

And then, just like that, the lead was lost. 68 minutes were on the clock when Charlie Rowan lined up a fairly straight free-kick from 25 yards. It had the power, clearly, as Haigh, despite being behind it, couldn’t stop it from spinning over the line.

There was genuine delight on the faces of the Weymouth supporters. A catharsis from catastrophe. The first league goal at home is always a momentous moment, especially when it arrives just days before the month of October.

Jack Bates and Ollie Starkey replaced Willard and Wheeler and almost immediately they made an impact. The host’s pressure was stunted, but still the Rebels could find little way through a now-resolute Weymouth backline.

Mark Molesley’s side are a much-improved phalanx since the start of the season, and they played with a freedom and confidence that Worthing were unable to bypass. For the visiting throng there should be no chagrin in any of this as the curtain fell on this frustrating yet fruitful encounter on the Dorset coastline. A point on the road is always a positive.

For Agutter, a further reminder of the flaws still to correct, the lapses still to eliminate. But a fourth league match unbeaten and three points shy of the playoffs with a game in hand, they’d likely have taken this.