A side featuring a mixture of trialists and current/former under-eighteens was complimented by a first pre-season appearance for Luke Robinson. (The real one !)

While the newly-promoted visitors boasted the attacking talents of thirty-eight goal Silvano Obeng and the vastly experienced Warren Bentley up front.

In fact, it was the aforementioned Obeng – who regularly found the back of the net for Wessex League Brockenhurst last term – who almost opened the scoring just six minutes in; only to run out of pitch after pouncing on a loose ball to beat goalkeeper Harrison Male but not the byline.

Jamie Barron’s free-kick was then headed marginally off target by Mark Jamison, as the Southern League Division One South play-off winners took an early stranglehold on the game.

Despite their domination though, it would be the hosts that went in front after Nodirbek Bobomuradov’s raking crossfield pass picked out lookalike Robinson. His pullback found an unmarked Ollie Starkey who calmly slotted past Jordi Valero in the guest’s goal.

A similar retrieval by City’s Skipper Barron saw his byline recovery sliced wide by Josh Bertie.

Then, Valero was called upon to prevent two trialist’s combining to devastating effect by keeping out #10 after #4 had slipped him in. Connal Bark completing the clearance.

However, the travelling Citizens soon levelled things up when Bentley’s right wing delivery led to Male, initially, saving Dan Nield’s effort but the predatory Obeng was in the right place at the right time to nod in from close range.

Reds’ responded via their own goalscorer, Starkey although he failed to trouble the scoreboard with a self-created attempt that he slashed over the crossbar.

The final say of the opening half also went to Worthing, as Valero was forced to get down to hold a low shot from our unknown number two and the players of both teams could escape the searing heat for a brief period.

No sooner had the second thirty got underway then Bertie had located the bottom corner from the edge of the box; betaing substitute goalie Dan Gibson to bury the ball in the bottom corner.
If that wasn’t enough, Gibbo was beaten again two minutes later, with the Hampshire-based visitors extending their advantage.

Another Summer hopeful, in the shape of the home side’s defensive giant suffered the ignominy of being nutmegged, with Claudio Cox proceeding to round off an impressive solo effort by foiling the young DG via the outside of his boot.

On a baking hot afternoon, the heat began to take it’s toll as chances were now at a premium.

More set-piece prowess from the Citizens came to a conclusion following a flashing fizzer flying narrowly the wrong side of the woodwork, thanks to the efforts of Bertie. That would prove to be his last contribution of the day though, as Jack Tornainen was forced to come back on to replace the injured striker.

Recent signing, former Cheshunt and Hungerford Town man Bobomuradov had a great opportunity to get his new team back in the match; only for the homesters’ new winger-cum-attacking midfielder to strike low and weakly at replacement custodian Andrei Cristea.

That would end up being the final flourish as the battle between the pair of promotion winners went the way of the Step three debutants.