Unos, dos, tres, Lauren Dolbear, Amelia Davies and Holly Talbut-Smith were in and Libby Kingshott, Becs Bell (Bench) and Chloe Winchester were out as a threadbare squad made the long journey down to deepest, darkest Bridgewater.
Grey skies greeted the two teams as they entered the arena and they very quickly got a lot darker for the home side, thanks to an in-form Tierney Scott powering home a header as she got on the end of Dan Rowe’s free-kick.
Although that lead was almost wiped out in an instant, only for a heavy touch by Hollie Tappin to allow goalkeeper Dolbear to pounce at her feet and safely gather the ball.
A rare error by opposite number Alex Madden gave Dani Lane a sight of goal from distance but her first time effort sailed narrowly wide.
The Rebels continued to take the game to their hosts, with Scott picking up possession and embarking on a terrific run that saw her deviate inside off the left wing, and find Sophie Humphrey who, in turn, played in Izzy Franklin for an attempt that was blocked by Gracie Owen.
Little more than ten minutes had ticked rapidly by before the pace of Tappin took her into the penalty area, where she drove a low, hard shot that Dolbear diverted behind for a corner via her right foot.
After opening her account for the season last week and winning the free-kick from which Scott had earlier broken the deadlock in this humdinger, Sophie Humphrey pressed and did her best to stop Bridgwater playing out from the back. A tactic that worked perfectly, when she charged down Madden’s attempted clearance to leave the ‘keeper red-faced and Worthing’s number nine smiley-faced, doubling the advantage and notching herself for the second match in a row.
Katie Young then hit the post, via a deflection off Rowe, as the heavens opened and the door was left ajar for the rest of the afternoon.
Not that it prevented Beth Everson from skillfully skipping between away debutant Davies and Young to break into the left-hand side of the box but Dolbear was there to parry at the expense of a flag-kick.
Though that dead ball came to nought in the end, Franklin nearly made her partially cleared one count second time around; floating fractionally over the crossbar from range, much to the relief of a backtracking Madden.
Then, the tenacious Humphrey helped engineer a third for the rain-soaked travellers, by regaining possession in the centre of the park and allowing Scott to centre for Lane to convert her third of the week.
Not that the Rebels had it all their own way, as Everson threatened to get away and, as the last player, Davies’ foul meant that the forward’s progress was halted, at a cost. A free-kick but a red card left the blues a player short.
The irony of an unused 3G pitch at the neighbouring college wasn’t lost on any of the on-pitch combatants, or for that matter the poor cameraman perched on his stool trying to get the best pictures, while rapidly getting swamped by the increasingly large puddle forming around him.
Sir Steve Redgrave would have fared just as well in the torrential rain, with rowing looking a distinct possibility on a more than slick surface.
The conditions helping Jess Smith too, as her free-kick skipped up off the pitch and required a second, brave stop from ‘Loz,’ who had to come out sharply to ensure Grace Phillips didn’t profit.
An even better, full-length Dolbear kept out home Captain Hana Bennett moments later, while at the other end, the recently-introduced Bell saw her hopes dashed by Town’s netminder Madden.
Over an hour went past prior to the Robins’ Everson flying along the left flank, cutting inside and slotting home to ruffle a few feathers in the visiting camp. Game on !
Dolbear denied Ellie Bell from twenty-five yards, courtesy of another brilliant intervention to keep a rocket from landing in the top corner, as the homesters upped the ante.
Finally back after being injured since the Summer, ‘new’ signing Lauren Amerena might have marked her introduction with a goal. Immediately latching onto Emily Linscer’s through ball, ‘Loz’ Mark Two was eventually frustrated by player-of-the-match Madden.
Bad luck then resulted in a skyward-facing Elle Keegan’s header dropping nicely for Dani Tyson who failed to land a knockout blow, with Dolbear holding on.
Jess Smith’s tackle had Amerena cursing her luck too, seconds later, with a corner the outcome instead.
One last chance fell to the guests, thanks to Humphrey setting Bell free but, as Becs entered the box, Madden was waiting; denying the fleet-footed winger not once but twice.
