Moments before the half-time whistle, at a time when a goal seemed most unlikely, Joel Colbran slammed home Nicky Wheeler’s superb snaking, curling cross to settle the contest. An afternoon that ebbed more than it flowed, the recent run of late heartbreaks at home was nonetheless over. As maximum points returned to the Reds in this tight, tetchy festive fixture.

Last Saturday’s deflating late leveller at the hands of similarly-placed opposition was undeniably numbing for Chris Agutter. His incandescence on the touchline was plain. He opted for two changes here: Glen Rea and debutant centre-half Joe Partington in for Kane Wills and Alfie Young respectively. So, there wasn’t too much in terms of rotation going forward – Tommy Willard still an absentee with a lingering knock, as Temi Babalola and Mo Faal continued to lead the line in tandem.

A brief word on the visitors: this is a genuinely proficient and powerful side. The attacking blend of Marcus Wyllie and Sam Youngs was imperious last season – 54 league goals combined will likely send you up – but as the former departed for Gillingham in the summer, the challenge of staying afloat in a league above will always be stern. Ultimately, there just wasn’t enough penetration in attack.

Here, though, they were a fortified unit: tough to break down, and a handful when they showed some belief. The pattern was akin to the St Albans clash seven days prior: welcoming a side already battling for every point, holding onto a 1-0 lead for much of the match. Only this time were the Reds able to make sure of the points.

The game began with a hesitancy. It took the Reds around 17 minutes to string more than a few passes together in the opposing half, and a further 30 minutes to register their first shot of the afternoon. The Towners had journeyed down with a gameplan to remain in the game for as long as possible, and look to countercharge when time ticked on.

But then again the past two weekends here have spotlighted the discipline and desire of sides hailing from below. In both the FA Trophy defeat-turned-victory and last weekend’s frustration, Worthing had led for large swathes of both yet conceded as they waited for the final whistle to spare them.

There was a slight restlessness amongst the stands as time dwindled in docile fashion towards the pause. There was just very little going on. This is fine, so long as something happens eventually. It wasn’t necessarily for a lack of drive; more a panoply of over-hit, under-hit and miss-hit passes.

Enfield tentatively crept from their cave as the referee began to glance at his watch, sensing the break. But whenever the visitors would slightly commit men forward, Worthing were at least able to craft a few passing moves together, and shift further up the pitch.

Now, it hadn’t been coming – neither side had even hit the ball towards the direction of the goal – but the opener did arrive. And a fine move it was, too. Sometimes, you just need a moment of quality. It only took a few seconds for Nicky Wheeler to look up, spot the run of captain Joel Colbran racing in at the back post, and find him with an exquisite cross that was duly volleyed home. 1-0. There’s your game. Thanks for coming.

The second chapter commenced, the wind calmed down, the Worthing noise rose and grew, and Enfield Town found a higher gear. There was an urgency and slickness yet to be seen, and it placed the pressure on a Worthing defence that spent much of the opening half ball watching. Agutter reacted. Wills on for Faal – he just hadn’t secured the service. Wills was on to sure up the midfield, to keep things in check.

Rea sighted a second from distance but Rhys Kenneth Foster clung on. He hadn’t made a save until the 61st minute, and he’d make three by the 62nd minute. Jack Spong glided into the box as if skating on silk, struck with his left but the ‘keeper was down low to his right to prevent the second. Babalola is gifted the ball yards out, but the guarder of the goal flings out a magnificent hand. Not that the referee credited him as a goal kick was the decision.

Now the game had zapped into life. Now Worthing were spurning vital chances. Now the frustration began to bubble. Tejon Brown forced Chris Haigh into an awkward save from a tight angle, as the pendulum swung to and fro. That cherished second goal, Worthing’s recent kryptonite, still eluded them as the game reached its denouement.

Harrison Smith was on now, slapping the palms of Babalola in a straight swap up top. He would scrap for every ball, and do exactly as was asked of him. But beneath him on the pitch was where it truly mattered. Could the red shirts hold on? They didn’t have to try too hard. For all their endeavour, they never really brought Haigh into the match.

Recent weeks have proved that a 1-0 goal lead is rarely enough in this division but, in truth, Enfield never looked like a side that would find the net. And that’s where this game was won: with a lone goal minutes before the break. They don’t call it a good time to score for nothing,

And so it’s a win to take into Christmas. Worthing curtailed the year at home with a victory, and kept pace with the pack. There’s a whole lot more quality still to be seen from this side, but as the festivities begin and the corks are popped, there’s plenty of reason to be merry.