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Whyteleafe manager Stuart Massey will be well satisfied with his team's performances over the last two matches. Earning a point at Croydon Athletic was dismissed by some as benefiting from the levelling of the atrocious weather conditions. However, at Worthing on Saturday the conditions were perfect and 'Leafe were well worth the point they earned at Woodside Road.
Indeed, Whyteleafe controlled much of the play against their promotion-chasing hosts and will be disappointed not to have made more from a string of corners. The first shot in the game came from one such corner: taken by Ryan Gray and falling to Robbie Smith whose firm strike sailed over the crossbar on 9 minutes.
But clear chances were few and far between in the first half with an Asher Hudson header on 27 minutes and a blocked shot from Andrew Martin five minutes later being the most notable. Worthing's supporters had even less to cheer about and as the half time whistle came they derided their team off the pitch.
The second half was a more open affair with both teams creating more chances but Whyteleafe still holding their own.
Jamie Brotherton, who had a spell at Church Road last season, is always a handful and had a powerful shot well stopped by Rob O'Hara just after the break.
Both managers were forced into changes early in the second half and for Massey this meant replacing Asher Hudson who playing on the right side of midfield with left-back Michael Harney. Jay Conroy switched over from the left to play down the right with his brother Ellis.
Brotherton missed another good chance just after the hour, scooping the ball over from close range.
Ryan Gray who had been busy for much of the game taking corners for 'Leafe was then replaced by Nigel Ikolodo, a new signing from Three Bridges. Ikolodo took a few minutes to find his feet but soon impressed the travelling supporters with his running and played a major role in the match's dying minutes.
But on 70 minutes it was Worthing who made the breakthrough. Substitute Ross Treleaven took a long throw into Whyteleafe box. The ball eluded everyone but Lee Farrell who stooped low to head past O'Hara and take the lead.
Treleaven almost doubled the lead a minute later firing just wide. But 'Leafe were far from down and out. Ten minutes from time Sean Rivers saw a shot whistle over the Worthing bar and Ikolodo was now causing all sorts of problems for the normally steady home defence.
His hard work was rewarded just two minutes from time. He beat two markers, made it to the by-line and cut the ball back across into the danger area. Robbie Smith found himself in the right place at the right time and gratefully fired the ball into the back of the net to earn a point his team genuinely deserved.
Whyteleafe: O'Hara, E Conroy, J Conroy, Reeve, Broomhead, Goodchild, Hudson (Harney), Smith, Martin, Rivers, Gray (Ikomodo). Unused sub: Sikaude.