WORTHING produced a scintillating second half performance to tear apart promotion rivals Walton and Hersham 5-1 at the A2B Stadium.

The Rebels scored four times after the break to maintain top spot in Ryman division one south in front of their biggest crowd of the season.

John Crumplin’s visitors began the day in fourth place and went ahead when a corner from ex-Rebel Chris O’Flaherty was flicked on and fired home by Elliott Braithwaite.

Worthing levelled five minutes before the break when Ross Treleaven produced a tremendous finish and never looked back after that.

Evan Archibald scored his first goal since joining from Lewes with a superbly engineered effort nine minutes into the second half, Jamie Brotherton bundled in a third, then substitutes Ben Williamson and Wayne Clarke got in on the act in the final ten minutes.

Manager Simon Colbran said: “The second-half performance was probably the best I have seen us play.

“We played some great football, especially against a decent side who were fourth in the table.”

Tony Di-Bernardo made a stunning debut for Horsham YMCA as they earned a point at Croydon Athletic.

Di-Bernardo saved two penalties as YMCA held out for a goaless draw after signing from Worthing on the eve of the game.

He kept out a spot kick from Chris Piper two minutes before the interval and then produced a fine stop to deny Croydon top scorer Gary Noel 15 minutes from the end.

Boss Chris White said: "It was a fantastic debut. The first penalty was poor but he made a great stop for the second.

"Everything about Tony was good. His handling and kicking were top class so we are really pleased with him.”

Matt Geard also made his debut for YMCA and almost snatched a winner after coming off the bench while Terry Dodd and Shaheen Sadough also had chances.

Burgess Hill boss Gary Croydon knows what his side must aspire to after a 3-1 defeat at title-chasing Folkestone.

Croydon admitted Hillians were second best.

But he added: “If that is what the benchmark is, we are not a million miles away.”

Hillians were 2-0 down when Danny Curd was fouled in the box and John Lansdale converted the resulting spot kick.

Ady Colwell admitted Eastbourne Town lacked a cutting edge, despite playing some nice stuff in a 3-0 defeat at Sittingbourne. Tom Bradbrook headed the hosts in front against the run of play just before the break.

Colin Richmond and Elie Kayembe added strikes in the second half.

Colwell said: “We had some decent approach work and did well for long periods but we lacked a bit of pace.

“We didn’t get around the back of Sittingbourne, everything was in front of them, so in a way it was comfortable for them. They went ahead with their one moment of quality. The next two goals were early Christmas gifts.”