Worthing 3–3 Southend United: six goals, two lost leads and the same old questions

McAdam lights up a superb first half

Kieron Dyer made two changes to the side that drew with FC Halifax Town. Darren Oldaker returned, while new loan signing Omari Patrick went straight into the starting eleven on the left, with Leon Chambers-Parillon on the opposite flank. Tyreece Simpson, another new arrival, started among the substitutes.

Patrick needed no settling-in period. His early curling effort forced Taylor Seymour to push the ball away, and when Dominic Johnson-Fisher tested Joe Duncan with a looping header at the other end, Southend replied with another Patrick shot that Seymour turned aside. Both sides threatened, but Southend were playing with purpose and finding space.

The breakthrough after 16 minutes was a lovely move. Kyle McAdam drove down the left and delivered low for Oli Coker, who met it first time from around 12 yards to put The Shrimpers ahead. It was Coker’s third goal of the campaign, all three coming away from Roots Hall.

Seven minutes later, McAdam did it again. Surging forward from left-back, he slipped the ball into Promise Omochere’s path. Omochere’s right-footed finish thundered in off the underside of the crossbar. Two assists for McAdam, two fine finishes, and suddenly Southend were two goals up against a side who had arrived on the back of three league wins.

There were other chances. Seymour had to repel a well-struck Patrick effort and later pushed a Darren Oldaker free-kick away from goal. By the break, Southend had earned their lead. McAdam was outstanding going forward, Patrick was lively, and Omochere had taken his tally to six goals in ten appearances.

Three Worthing changes, and the game turns on its head

Worthing manager Adam Hinshelwood didn’t wait around to see whether the first-half pattern would continue. He made three changes during the interval, sending on former Southend striker Charley Kendall, Jordan Young and Jack Wadham. His side came back with far more urgency, and the change in momentum was obvious.

But Southend still had the chance to put the match beyond them. Chambers-Parillon sent Patrick clean through. At 2–0, a third goal might have been decisive; instead, Patrick went for power and Seymour blocked his shot. It was a big opportunity to waste.

In the 57th minute, Worthing punished us. With Vontae Daley-Campbell caught upfield, the home side broke down the left, and Johnson-Fisher charged into the area before driving his finish past Duncan. The comfortable lead was suddenly anything but comfortable.

Dyer responded with a triple substitution, replacing Chambers-Parillon, Omochere and Patrick with Josh Popoola, Ryan Colclough and Simpson. Three attacking players off at once, just as Worthing had begun to find gaps. It was a big call, and the next few minutes did nothing to quieten questions about it.

Worthing were level in the 62nd minute. Johnson-Fisher supplied the dangerous low delivery from the left and Cory Adjetey-Brew swept it home. A two-goal half-time lead had disappeared in barely five minutes.

Simpson’s debut goal should have been the winner

At least Southend had an answer. Anthony Hartigan’s corner from the right was headed down by Dan Cox, and Simpson spun to finish from close range in the 65th minute. A debut goal, a 3–2 lead, and a chance to make those two quick concessions no more than an ugly passage in an otherwise successful night.

But we never truly regained control. Young sent a left-footed attempt just wide. Kendall stretched for a low ball across the face of goal and narrowly missed. Southend were creating chances too: Simpson rounded Seymour, only for Jayden Moore to recover and block his effort on the line of the shot. It was the second enormous opening, after Patrick’s miss, that could have put daylight between the sides.

Then came the equaliser. A Southend attempt to play out from the back ended with an overhit Hartigan pass and a Worthing throw. The home side kept pressing, and in the 76th minute Young let fly from distance. Duncan got to the powerful left-footed shot but could only divert it into the top corner. Worthing 3, Southend 3.

Simpson very nearly had the last word when a fierce effort clipped the top of the crossbar and flew over. At the other end, Kendall forced Duncan into another save before stabbing the rebound wide. Five minutes were added, and there was no shortage of anxiety in them.

Excellent going forward. Far too easy to play through.

The familiar argument will be about Dyer’s substitutions. It is easy to be clever with hindsight, and Simpson’s goal was itself the result of one of those changes. But replacing the entire starting front three during Worthing’s strongest spell did not help us settle. With the home side driving through midfield and running at a stretched back line, I would have liked to see more protection and fewer gaps.

The problem is bigger than one substitution or one goalkeeper’s fingertips. When Southend are on top, Hartigan and Oldaker can move the ball and we can look a class above. When the opposition start running at us, the midfield offers too little resistance and the defenders are left facing attacks with far too much space around them. We were 2–0 up. There was no need to turn the second half into a race from one penalty area to the other.

It is worth giving Worthing credit. Hinshelwood’s changes worked, Johnson-Fisher caused trouble, and their willingness to keep attacking deserved a reward. They were a very good side in the second half. That doesn’t let Southend off the hook, but it does matter when judging a draw away to a promotion rival.

There are positives. McAdam’s first-half work was terrific. Coker gave us a captain’s goal, Omochere kept scoring, and Patrick and Simpson both looked capable of making a real difference. We’re still unbeaten away from home in the league. Those aren’t things to dismiss.

Nor, though, can we dismiss the statistic that matters most tonight: 24 goals conceded in 15 league matches, with just one clean sheet. We can put three past a good team and still spend the final minutes wondering whether we’re about to lose. That is not a foundation for a sustained promotion challenge.

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