Worthing Women: Soph near yet Soph far

Worthing Women saw defeat cruelly snatched from the jaws of victory as they suffered a stoppage time sucker punch at home to Ashford Town (Middlesex).

It was a much changed team which lined up against a side they’d only faced a fortnight ago. Injury robbed the Reds of Captain Holly Talbut-Smith, while Skye Birkinshaw and Sophie Richards were also absent. Marcie Skipp was sadly forced to pull out during the warm-up. On a more positive note, Jess Richardson, Ella Terry and Ruby Murdock were all back. Cristie Pritchard moved up from the bench to take the place of Skipp and there was a full debut for under eighteen alumni Georgia Glover.

The opening quarter of an hour saw a midfield stalemate result in a lack of action in either penalty area. 

However, that all changed after thirteen minutes when a simple move down the left wing led to Amelia Halawi making hay while the sun (sometimes) shone, eventually picking out an unmarked Chanel Morris in the eighteen yard box to sweep beyond the despairing drive of Sian Woods in the Rebels’ goal.

Any fears of a repeat of the six-nil hammering Town meted out fourteen days ago soon evaporated though, thanks to a similar passage of play engineered by the teenage Glover. Her quickly taken throw-in had Annie Gracey tearing down the opposite flank and finding Murdock inside, a neat sidestep of her marker created the room for a shot that warmed the gloves of Libby Stratton for the first time in the contest.

Glover featured again shortly afterwards; only for her accurate left foot delivery to be glanced the wrong side of the upright by Nicole Mackay.

Roles were reversed moments later, as Mackay returned the favour to teammate Glover for an attempt that rose just too high, from the edge of the penalty box.

Into the final five of an evenly contested first forty-five, Woods’ hands were warmed by a Mahairi Crooks nod goalwards, following Ruby Maiden’s cross off the right.

Then, within a matter of seconds, up the other end, Mackay latched onto a forward pass and cracked home a stunning half-volley from range which had Stratton well and truly beaten; all with her ‘weaker’ left foot !

Suddenly the script had changed but no further breach of the defences meant that the two teams went into the half-time break level pegging.
To add further to the excitement, the second period had an equally dramatic start to it.

Alice Frise’s foul on Gracey marginally outside the eighteen yard area provided an opportunity for Skipper Sophia Wickenden to step up to the plate. That she did with her own contribution to at least Goal of the Month by firing up and over the wall and into the top corner.

Despite the setback, Ashford responded immediately via Maiden’s corner being palmed away by Woods but only as far as the incoming Elena Nitsche, who couldn’t quite slow down in time to do more than land the ball on top of the net.

A tad shy of the hour mark, Maiden resumed her defensive duties by blocking Gracey’s effort inside the box, as Worthing looked to put the game (potentially) to bed.

Less than a minute elapsed prior to the same player offering an ever-increasing threat from flagkicks; this time the towering Frise unable to convert.

The match really could have gone either way at this point and Mackay had the next chance for the hosts when she seized on a loose ball in the ‘d’ but could only watch on in frustration as it narrowly missed the target.

Twenty minutes from time and sheer persistence from Nitsche somehow saw her come out with the ball wide out on the right, drive inside and draw Woods not just out of her goal but also her penalty area, to ultimately leave Amelia Halawi with an open goal to restore the visitor’s advantage.

Woods redeemed herself courtesy of a near post block with her legs to keep out Nitsche again, whilst Halawi tried to add to her tally and make it four goals in two games against the Reds, though Worthing’s custodian was having none of it.

They thought it was all over and it might have been now had Halawi, breaking the offside trap as she latched onto a ball over the top not struck the woodwork via a brilliant fingertip stop by Woods, into time added on.

Unfortunately, a good thirty seconds past the minimum of four extra played by the referee, the Tangerines struck a real hammer blow to the Rebels by nabbing a late, late winner.

One last corner was sent into the danger zone off the trusted boot of Maiden for Frise to make amends for an earlier miss by emphatically nodding home the winner.