Kingshott kept goal, with Libby being recalled as the last line of defence, while Jess Richardson and Katie Cooper were also back at the expense of Dani Lane (injured) and Becs Bell (bench.)
It had finished seven-nil to the Rebels the last time these two teams met, in the National League Plate at the end of September. The hosts were, naturally, determined to right a few wrongs from that day and carved out the games’ opening opportunity after nine minutes. Scarlett Mills’ left wing corner required the wherewithal of visiting Skipper Dan Rowe to block a first time volley by Ciera Lundy.
A slow burner of a match practically reached the midway point of the first-half before the next chance of note, thanks to defender Izzy Franklin almost catching out home ‘keeper Klaudia Wojtyczka from fully forty yards but seeing her effort drop just over the bar.
Possibly inspired but such an audacious, yet not simply an opportunistic attempt, Lundy nearly landed one in herself a long way out and had Kingshott scrambling back, only for the post to come to the netminder’s rescue.
Not that Worthing’s number twenty-three could do much about Lily Withers’ close-range header less than a minute later, as the homesters Player of the Match powered in another Mills flag-kick off that trusty left wing.
Their tails now very much up, Town threatened again via Vicky Vipond making headway down the right and fizzing over a low cross that, somehow, evaded everybody in the penalty area. Eventually arriving at the feet of Mills, the goal provider was denied the chance to become a goalscorer by the strength of Katie Young, as she shielded the ball back to the safe hands of Kingshott.
The ball was in the Worthing net a second time, just past the half-hour mark, though the offside flag frustrated Bea Kretteis after she’d got on the end of Mills’ latest corner.
Inside the final ten of the opening forty-five, Reds started to find their range, courtesy of Georgia Tibble teeing up Young for one of her long-range specials that dipped a fraction too late.
They came even closer in stoppage time, when, once Tierney Scott had weaved her way past a pair of Green and White (pin-striped) shirts to break into the eighteen yard box, from the left-hand side, Cooper was left cursing the crossbar, after seeing her shot strike it at least twenty-five yards out.
‘Coops’ then regained possession by way of a firm but perfectly fair midfield challenge, before turning and releasing Rowe to subsequently set the recently introduced Bell through on goal, where Wojtyczka was forced to kick into touch after managing to get to the ball in the nick of time.
An unfortunate clash of heads had meant Tibble had had to leave the action early and the travellers fortunes took a further turn for the worse at the start of the second period. A cross wasn’t properly cleared and Kretteis was on hand to punish as she swept a shot over the stranded Kingshott who, despite her best efforts, was unable to prevent the deficit being doubled.
Keynsham’s scorer then set about putting the game virtually to bed; spraying a pass out to the right flank and finding Vipond, whose low delivery saw Kingshott concede a corner after pulling off a fine save to thwart Captain (Naomi) Clipston.
Less than half-an-hour remained at the precise moment Sophie Humphrey skewed off target, after being the recipient of Rowe’s tight, right touchline free-kick but, her time would come.
Further injury woe befell the luckless Rebels a short while later, with Cooper hobbling off to be replaced by Leah Hume and within a matter of seconds, the tireless Scott picked out Richardson to suffer even more agony, missing the far upright by the finest of margins.
It was Scott of the Worthing, continuing on her own expedition to the Keynsham goal very shortly afterwards, who suffered a similar fate but goalkeeper Wojtyczka was on hand to ensure she too wasn’t left behind as teammate Withers had been, thanks to ‘T’ leaving her trailing in her wake.
That smothering stop proved to be key, as less than a minute had ticked by when Humphrey was played in along the right, glided past the onrushing Wojtyczka and, despite facing what looked like an impossible angle, found the back of the net.
However, that joy proved to be short-lived. Defensive uncertainty cost the visitors a third and left substitute Brooke Stirrup to ride on through, five minutes after entering the action.
Salt was then well and truly rubbed in the wounds, with the journey home seeming that much longer thanks in no small part to Stirrup, again, being first past the post; galloping down the right prior to providing an assist to complement her goal, when her gravity-defying centre was met by the incoming Vipond.
A small crumb of relative comfort was offered up by Young in added on time, though the Footballing Gods frowned rather than smiled upon her as a relieved Wojtyczka watched on alongside the rest of us; the scurrying woman-between-the-sticks glad to see the ball, in a photo finish, roll past the post.
