Libby Kingshott was back between the sticks as Summer signing Lauren Amerena earned her maiden start and Katie Cooper kept her place, after coming off the bench at home to Abingdon United last week. Izzy Franklin and Sophie Humphrey were rested and took two of the sub’s spots.
In a fast-paced opening, the visitors showed first; a mere three minutes on the clock when Tierney Scott cut in off the left wing and stung the palms, or leg in this instance, of home ‘keeper Whitney Duvall, as the ball skipped up awkwardly off the 3G surface.
One hundred and eighty seconds later, Dani Lane saw her low drive deflected behind for a corner that Katie Cooper delivered and soon received back via the dome of Marissa Wilkins. ‘Coops’ second attempt only made it as far as Becs Bell – as Comets struggled to clear their lines – who found Georgia Tibble, who returned to sender and this time KC struck up the (Sunshine) band by unleashing a long-range rocket that beat Duvall all ends up.
Cooper’s influence was clear to see and she soon dispossessed Arendje Lowter in midfield prior to feeding Bell for a final attempt that custodian Duvall got safely behind.
Little more than a quarter-of-an-hour into the contest and the visitors increased their lead when Cooper and Lane linked up again. Katie provided the flag-kick once more for Dani to head home from close range.
A dominant spell procured goal number three moments later, courtesy of Tibble putting Moria Sloan in a spin via a ‘see you later’ turn and reverse nutmeg on the half-way line. GT motored towards the target, leaving Kariel Parian behind in a puff of smoke and finally tucked her shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Tibble might have made it two shortly afterwards but a defensive block denied her, with the offside flag also ruling out Bell’s close-range stab over the line, after Scott had terrorised her marker and created the opportunities.
Roared on by a vociferous home crowd, complete with home-made banners, who populated a large part of the main stand and its environs, the home side got the ground rocking when Wilkins tried her luck from distance. Even though Kingshott claimed comfortably, this particular corner of South London saw signs of encouragement.
Buoyed by this, good work by McKenna Doyle ended with the winger firing goalwards from twenty yards, only for a well-positioned boot to take the sting out of her strike.
Tails now very much up, The Comets – and Doyle in particular – conjured up another opening via a cross to the back post, where an unmarked Diede Fennema slipped at the most inopportune moment and the chance went begging.
That unfortunate profligacy was duly punished by way of a Groundhog Day moment. Cooper sent in a corner off the right, Lane nodded down and in, close in to make it a brace of goals for the Captain and one of assists for the influential ‘Coops.’
Play then switched to the other end; Kingshott coming out quickly to intercept ahead of the onrushing Fennema, allowing a Wimbledon tennis-style move back the other way, with Cooper going all Mikaela Shiffrin during a slaloming run that led to a one-two between Tibble and Scott. Swivelling on the spot, Tibble couldn’t quite keep her shot low enough.
Five minutes before the break, Katie Young capitalised on the space afforded to her to drive forward and ultimately flash an attempt across the (angled) face of goal and narrowly past the (far) post. Bell stretching but not quite connecting at said upright.
Undeterred, Doyle pulled off a similar move when she broke through the barricades, though missed the opposite apparatus by an identical margin.
Seconds prior to the referee blowing his whistle for half-time, the Sky Blues did have something to celebrate. A rapid counter-attack concluded by Wilkins’ twenty yard-plus screamer leaving Libby (Kingshott) rooted to the spot and duly sending the majority of the St Paul’s Sports Ground into ecstasy.
However, a few short minutes after the turnaround, Cooper provided Bell with an early opportunity to surely put the game to bed. Although Livia Capparelli had other ideas, clearing off the line to offer a glimmer of hope with Worthing not at their usual ruthless best.
Far from feeling overawed, the homesters won themselves a penalty thanks to the aforementioned Capparelli’s throw-in eventually leading to interval change Audrey Reid being clipped in the area by Amerena. Reid dusted herself down and stepped up to the plate, only to drag her spot-kick the wrong side of Kingshot’s near post.
LA (Amerena) then nearly silenced the locals in SE (London) as her delivery picked out Bell who clipped the outside of the front stick.
By this point, injury had forced the premature departure of Eleanor Keegan and Emily Linscer had also required a lengthy period of treatment from the unusually busy Maisie Preston.
Indeed, time was nearly up before home hopes were raised courtesy of a doubling up on (Amelia) Davies that resulted in the half-time sub losing possession and Comets countering. Now, whether Reid intended a cross or a shot remains to be seen but, on this occasion, we’ll give her the benefit of the doubt. Soaring a searcher high over the head of the rooted-to-the-spot Kingshott, nerves were sent at least a little jangling.
They couldn’t could they ?
Despite a raucous but enthusiastic following urging them on, any lingering doubts were put to bed in the sixth and final minute of the match.
Davies rounded off an episode that began when Bell’s right-sided centre led to Amerena challenging netminder Duvall, Capparelli bravely blocked Scott on the rebound, then Davies broke her Worthing duck by rifling into the top corner from outside the eighteen yard box.
