Amidst the windy conditions, the young Seagulls claimed victory at the American Express Elite Football Performance Centre courtesy of three smart finishes.

Chris Agutter’s travelling squad for the friendly consisted of 26 players, with a combination of first-team players, academy prospects and trialists.

The Premier League academy side commenced the contest with plenty of attacking impetus and took the lead inside the opening four minutes. A miscommunication at the back allowed Brighton’s Harry Mills to ghost behind the defence down the left flank and break the deadlock with a composed side-footed finish.

Toby Byron was amongst several of the summer signings to make their first start in a Worthing shirt for the first time. On numerous occasions, the former Wingate and Finchley defender thwarted the oncoming danger with a perfectly-timed tackle.

Following the opener, proceedings dropped in tempo, as both sides continued to build up their match fitness.

The Rebels grew into the encounter, with Odei Martin Sorondo recording our first attempt on target from range – although the shot was comfortably gathered by the Brighton stopper.

Joel Colbran was providing the width down the left-hand side and found himself with time and space to shoot after being picked out by Bailey Smith. However, the skipper couldn’t get proper purchase on his strike and the ball spun wide of the target.

The momentum was firmly in the Reds’ favour and successive corners caused issues for the opposition backline. Odei stooped low to keep a delivery from Razzaq Coleman De-Graft alive, and his flick on reached Temi Babalola. However, the imposing striker’s shot was smothered from close quarters by the ‘keeper.

Towards the end of the first period, Trialist A displayed smart reactions to prevent the Seagulls from doubling the advantage with a close-range stop.

The second half saw almost a completely different eleven named by the manager, with Byron the only player to retain his spot from the first half. Sam Beard took the captain’s armband off Colbran, with Harry Ransom, Matt Burgess and Nathan Odokonyero also entering the fold to make their first appearance for the Club.

Similarly to the first period, Brighton came flying out of the traps after the restart. With his first touch of the ball as a Rebel, Ransom did well to delay a strike before the goalkeeper, a different Trialist, caught the eventual effort.

Agutter’s side were pressing with intent and were inches away from being rewarded for their efforts.

Seconds after Beard’s curling shot was saved, Burgess showed great desire to win the ball back before Trialist C’s subsequent shot rolled onto the post and bounced away from goal.

Brighton were struggling to deal with the insistent press from Burgess, with our new midfielder claiming possession once again. This time, Nathan Odokonyero tried his luck, but the goalkeeper was well positioned to deny the striker.

Midway through the second period, the Premier League outfit extended their lead. Neat footwork from young  winger Tyler Silsby bought himself a few yards to fire a rasping second into the back of the net.

It was almost an instant response from the Mackerel Men, as they hit the woodwork for the second occasion within seconds of the second. Straight from kick-off, Jack Spong picked out Odokonyero, whose curling shot from the edge of the box clipped the upright.

The hosts had opportunities to seal the triumph, and after our young goalkeeper stayed alert to push a few shots over the crossbar, the opposition struck for a third time.

A long ball was assisted in its flight by the wind and fell to the striker, who ruthlessly found the corner with a smart finish.

3-0 was the final score, but Chris Agutter and his coaching staff will have plenty of positives to reflect upon ahead of our first home friendly next Saturday. We welcome a West Ham XI to the Sussex Transport Community Stadium, which represents another opportunity for the players to gel and test out new methods.

Worthing XI (First Half): Trialist A, Coleman De-Graft, Jordan, Cook, Byron, Colbran (C), Rea, Frimpong, Odei, Babalola, Smith

Worthing XI (Second Half): Trialist B, Beard (C), Packham, Ransom, Byron, Wheeler; Trialist C, Burgess, Spong; Odokonyero, Trialist D