Mid Sussex lose to strong Worthing side

The match was always going to be tough for Mid Sussex as their opponents were recently relegated from the league above and with 7 players missing this only added to the challenge ahead.

The final score 1-3.

Worthing immediately began creating chances from the opening whistle, playing some attractive one-touch hockey that exploited the space in the Mid-Sussex backline.

The hosts’ defending kept their clean sheet intact however, and they soon settled into their game. Both sides had plenty of scoring opportunities in the first half but neither managed to convert them and the teams left the field at halftime with score at 0-0.

Mid Sussex switched to a more conservative 4-4-2 formation to start the second half in an attempt to stifle the Worthing attackers who had found gaps in the home team’s back three earlier in the game. The match remained a tense one with both teams failing to capitalise on their chances, until an accurate Worthing cross combined with a lapse in Mid Sussex’s marking allowed for an easy back post tap-in for the visitors.

A few minutes later, Worthing scored again with a bottom-right shot from the top of the D that deflated a Mid Sussex team that had battled hard to this point. Before the final whistle both teams would score from short corners; Worthing’s came from a deflection from top of the D, whilst Hayden James scored a consolation drag flick for Mid Sussex and his fourth of the season so far.

Ultimately this was a disappointing result for Mid Sussex who will feel they could have gotten more from what was a tightly contested match. There are plenty of positives to be taken from their performance however, with the likes of Tom Bonanate and Ed Mendola making their home debuts, and with some key players unavailable for this match, it was always going to be a difficult game against a talented Worthing team.