Worthing say they “sincerely apologise” to loyal fans who missed out on tickets for their play-off final.

Approximately 100 remaining tickets were quickly snapped up by personal callers early on Wednesday, with others being turned away.

There were accounts of fans arriving by 6.30am hoping to secure a place at the promotion decider.

Rebels host Braintree on Monday with the winners going into the fifth-tier National League.

Several pubs and clubs in Worthing are already advertising the fact they will be showing the game, which is being broadcast live by TNT Sports.

In a message to fans, club owner George Dowell said it had been "an incredibly tough 24 hours" and added some expectations of the club in unprecedented times had been harsh.

Season ticket holders were given their own priority window, during which they could buy one ticket each.

 

General sale was opened online on Tuesday evening with a limit of four tickets per person.

The ticketing website operated by Ticketpass crashed as demand peaked at 30,000 hits in a few seconds.

Worthing said: “We recognise that we have a lot of very regular supporters, who are not season ticket holders, who were unable to obtain a ticket. For this we sincerely apologise. Whilst this was a match where demand was always going to significantly exceed supply, we were simply dealing with unprecedented levels.

“Clearly there are some important learnings that the club will take from this experience and ensure that the issues are not repeated.”

Worthing appear to have recognised tickets may have have been snapped up by touts.

They have advised fans to beware buying from “ticket touts and scammers” and added: “We highly advise that you do not purchase tickets from a third party.”

Worthing said the limit of four tickets per fan, which has been criticised by many, was set with family groups in mind.