Libby Kingshott was back between the sticks, while Chloe Winchester started up front in preference to Becs Bell. Newest recruit Meg Curran joined both the former on the bench.
The visitors lined up with a few familiar faces in their own ranks too, namely the aforementioned Carter, Leah Morris and the recently departed Berine Vivas-Alonso.
Despite the one tier gap between the teams, it was a closely fought affair, with Tierney Scott picking out the run into the box of Lauren Amerena, who scooped a decent chance over the bar, nine minutes in.
The Dockers’ first real sight of goal produced one on the quarter-hour mark. Gracie Cook laid the ball back to ex-Rebel and one-time Supporter’s Player-of-the-Year Carter; cue a wonderful chipped effort over the head of the stricken Kingshott from at least thirty yards out.
Reds responded with some fine approach play, which saw Winchester and Eleanor Keegan exchange an improvised one-two before Keegan supplied Dani Lane. A drive forward ended via a pass out to Scott on the right wing, only for the top-scoring winger to land her cross on the top of the net.
Midway through the opening period, Worthing found an equaliser. Winchester turned and released Captain Dan Rowe on the overlap; the number eight powered her way down the inside-right channel and into the penalty area, prior to picking out the opposite bottom corner of goalkeeper Elleah Fenner’s net.
Rowe might have turned provider shortly after the half-hour, only for Lane to head her free-kick the wrong side of the upright, at the back stick.
However, the game’s next goal came from a rather unlikely source. Having got the better of Cook in the centre circle, centre-half Izzy Franklin didn’t get much further, as she looked up and duly dispatched a forty yard stunner over a flailing Fenner and into the top corner. Bagging her maiden Rebels goal in some style !
Franklin almost added an assist to her afternoon’s work when she went long, to bypass the Newhaven defence which Winchester cleverly got behind. Getting the right side of Vivas-Alonso but lifting her attempt narrowly over the angle of crossbar and post.
Ten minutes after the turnaround, Tibble spearheaded a quick counter; holding off the close attentions of Ellie O’Callaghan to spread play out to the rampaging Scott. Though, unfortunately, on this occasion, ‘T’ couldn’t quite wrap her foot around the ball and it flew behind.
The same player was also at the heart of the next opportunity that presented itself to the Reds.
Keegan made headway down the left-hand side and calmly played back to Tibble to deliver a cross that just eluded Winchester, then, following a tussle for possession on the byline with Vivas-Alonso, Scott too.
A corner was procured though and taker Tibble ended up as the beneficiary of a blessed break to force Fenner into tipping over the top, at the expense of another.
In between times, Rowe’s revered reverse pass allowed Winchester a glimpse of glory, only for Fenner to get there first and smother at the forwards’ feet.
It then took more than a blue shirt or two to keep the guests in the game, with Amerena and Lane denied in quick succession.
Strike three might have meant that Newhaven were out, once Tibble had taken ownership of the situation and sent substitute Richardson speeding clear on the left, before she found the unmarked Rowe on the edge of the six-yard box. Dan’s neat backward glance went in but the assistant referee’s flag went up, at the same time, to rule it out on the grounds of offside.
Continuing an apparent one woman crusade on the opposition, Tibble still had enough time, as we entered stoppages, to not only set sub Becs Bell breaking at typical pace along the right flank but also end up drawing an excellent stop out of Fenner. ‘Haven struggled to get rid of Bell’s tantalising low delivery and, despite being surrounded by a trio of blue-shirted defenders, ‘G’ managed to turn and come oh-so-close to putting the seal on an impressive afternoon’s work.
