The Club can confirm that Manager John Donoghue and Coach Kelly Newton have left their roles at the club.
The duo joined the Reds in 2021 following the commencement of the 20/21 season in which the side where promoted to the LSERWFL Premier Division for the first time in the club’s history. The pair set out to establish the side as a top team in the league looking to compete with sides such as Dartford and Fulham. John and Kelly picked up 9 points in their first 4 games, beating Fulham 2-1 at Woodside. In their first season in charge, the Reds placed 4th with 34 points. During this season John took the side to the first round of the FA Cup beating Newhaven and Littlehampton in the process, where they faced Hounslow Women who edged past the Rebels on penalties. Furthermore, in their debut season, John and Kelly led the side to the Semi-Finals of the Sussex Women’s Challenge Cup but lost a spot in the final to Crawley Wasps.
John and Kelly began to improve on their debut season with 6 new summer signings to bolster the squad. Ellie Russell, Rachael Palmer, Chloe Winchester, Georgia Tibble, Niamh Andersson and Hayley Bridge. It took until the 19th of March for the Rebels to be defeated in the league in which title challengers Ebbsfleet overcame John’s side. The title race went down to the final day for John and Kelly’s Rebels where they faced AFC Crawley (formerly AFC Acorns) with goals from Charlie Carter and Sammy Quayle gave Worthing the 3 points they needed to see them lift the trophy and claim the title of LSERWFL Premier Division Champions. The Rebels ended the season with 1 loss and 61 out of a possible 66 points.
This wasn’t the only success that came to the club that season, John and Kelly made history with the side guiding them to the second round of the FA Cup where they would face Tier 3 side MK Dons where they narrowly missed out on reaching the next round due to 2 late goals from the Dons to win 3-2. Despite missing out on a place in the 3rd round the Rebels went on to achieve success in the LSERWFL Cup, they faced current holders of the Cup Dartford and with goals from Georgia Tibble, Ellie Russell, and Super Sub Emily Linscer the Rebels went on to dethrone the champions with a 3-1 win. The Rebels ended the season making history in the FA Cup and winning the double.
Donoghue and Newton entered their 3rd season in charge in the FAWNL Division One South East. With a new league came new ambitions. After a season of highs and lows the Rebels Finished in third place ending the season with 45 points, and with the season closing off John Donoghue and Kelly Newton have decided to step down from their respective roles.
The club would like to thank John and Kelly for their tireless effort over the past three seasons and for guiding the side to new heights over their time in charge.
