Four for in-form Scott: Worthing too hot for Bournemouth Sports
Tierney Scott led a rout of Bournemouth Sports with four goals out of a team total of seven as Worthing inched up a place to fifth in Division 1SW of the National League – seven points off the top but with three games in hand on leaders Swindon Town.
Only one difference to the starting XI was made by Manager Jesus Cordon, with Izzy Franklin coming in for Amelia Davies. Chloe Winchester and Jess Richardson returned to join Libby Kingshott and Leah Hume on the bench.
The home team turned up the temperature in the opening two minutes, when a spell of one-touch head tennis resulted in Georgia Tibble, Becs Bell and Lauren Amerena allowed Dani Lane to bring the ball down and lay-off to Amerena, who tucked a low shot across keeper Chloe Traves to open the scoring.
Bell seized on a loose pass to burst through, reach the byline and force Traves into a near-post parry at the expense of a corner. Tibble’s set-piece led to Lane’s header being kept out via a combination of Traves and a defender.
Another glance goalwards by Bell came after a deep left-wing cross was well kept in by Tierney Scott but she couldn't qkeep her effort down. Scott drilled a low attempt that Traves got behind at the foot of her near upright.
The Sports stopper almost got caught out moments later, courtesy of Tibble trying her luck from distance. Within seconds, Dan Rowe’s ball over the top saw Scott get the better of Traves and slot home the Reds’ second.
Eleanor Keegan picked out Lane, whose header lacked the power to trouble Traves. First-half stoppage time saw captain Rowe shrugging off the attentions of Liane Folkenstern to release Scott on the right. She drifted inside Jess Fowell before drilling a powerful shot that beat the overworked Traves.
Bournemouth made two changes at the break but neither Freya Rolfe nor Katie Kingshott could do anything about Lane’s lovely touch - in front of her own dugout - that gave Rowe the opportunity to lay an inch-perfect pass down the line for Bell to latch on to. Bell sped clear prior to sending over a delivery that ran all the way across the area for Amerena to fire first-time into the top corner for 4-0.
Franklin went route one; Scott watched the ball on to her right foot then unleashed a venomous half-volley, leaving Traves with no chance; completing a brilliant 12-minute hat-trick.
A rare sight of goal saw substitute Richardson and Franklin dissected by a ball on the right that found fellow sub Emily Phillips. The No9 broke into the box and fired in an effort that cannoned back off the inside of the far post and surprised netminder Lauren Dobear, who could only deflect it over the line for a rather harsh own goal.
Scott and Richardson worked a neat one-two on the left, only for the former’s cross to hit the front stick and rebound out.
Hannah Bennett’s flag-kick caused problems as Worthing struggled to clear their lines. Kingshott recycled it, forcing Dolbear to react rapidly by coming out to clear. Visiting skipper Hollie Shaw was a mere whisker wide with another effort.
Dolbear prevented fresh-off-the-bench Sophie Lerigo from bagging a nerve-inducing second.
However, any lingering doubts about where the points may have been heading were quickly put to bed.
An additional three minutes proved sufficient for sub Winchester to turn on Rowe’s short ball forward and offer Tibble the chance to blast home an absolute rocket.
Two minutes later, Tibble set up Scott to lift the ball nonchalantly over the Sports backline; allowing Scott to drive home Worthing’s seventh.