A brace from Sam Mee and strikes from Gemma Worsfold, Tammy Waine, Hannah Hewlett, Rebecca Thompson-Agbro and Maeve O’Hannrachian ensured Michelle Lawrence’s side made it 12 straight league wins at a sun soaked Woodside Road.
The hosts began brightly and could have taken the lead inside 30 seconds when Worsfold’s ambitious half volley from the edge of the box flew narrowly wide. The visitors were then thankful to goalkeeper Kelly Amer, who produced a fantastic smothering stop on 11-minutes to deny Worsfold the opener.
Eventually, Worthing’s early dominance was rewarded on 17-minutes when Worsfold pounced on a poor goal kick from Amer and cooly finished into the back of the net to give her side a crucial lead.
Worthing quickly made it 2-0 on 25-minutes when Mee collected the ball on the edge of the box and clipped a delightful lobbed effort over Amer and into the bottom corner to give Worthing breathing space.
The home side continued to dominate proceedings in the first half, and they were not content with that two goal lead. The ever present Tammy Waine made it 3-0 on 32-minutes, when she expertly headed in from Mee’s fantastic in-swinging free kick from close range to put the result beyond all reasonable doubt.
The Reds were not finished there either as they made it 4-0 on 38-minutes. After winning possession in the Parkwood half, Sophie Humphrey did brilliantly to beat two defenders and squeeze in a cross for Mee, who rifled the ball into the back of the net for her second of the game.
Following that goal, Sara Tubby made way for O’Hannrachian as Lawrence rotated her squad with the emphatic scoreline now secured., and the substitute made an immediate impact. Parkwood again failed to clear their lines on 45-minutes, allowing Mee to cross for O’Hannrachian, who guided a glancing header into the corner as she marked her [league] debut with her first goal to give her side a 5-0 lead at the break.
The relentless pressure from Worthing continued into the second period, and the hosts made it 6-0 on 51-minutes. Parkwood struggled to deal with the aerial threat of their hosts all afternoon, and this time Hewlett was the beneficiary as she calmly headed home from another Mee delivery at the back post.
Despite struggling to create chances for the majority of the afternoon, the hosts almost grabbed a consolation on 53-minutes, when Zoe Evan’s clever lobbed effort from range narrowly flew over Amy Coster’s crossbar.
The rout was completed on 67-minutes when Thompson-Agbro powered in a precise header from yet another corner as Parkwood’s aerial frailties were capitalised upon once again by Lawrence’s team.
With the victory secure, Tubby and Beth Kincaid were introduced for Humphrey and O’Hannrachian as Lawrence continued to freshen things up as the game progressed. Mee then had the chance to seal her hat-trick 20-minutes from time. After showing great desire to win the ball in midfield, the Worthing forward saw her powerful driven effort deflect into the side netting.
Worthing were able to see out the remainder of the game unscathed as they produced the perfect response to last week’s defeat to Phoenix Sports. The Reds league challenge continues in a week’s time, when they make the short trip east to face Eastbourne United on Sunday 8th March.
Speaking after the game, goalscorer Rebecca Thompson-Agbro was full of praise for her teammates and highlighted the importance of bouncing back from last week’s defeat quickly. She said, “it was extremely important to get back on track after last week. As a collective we identified areas we needed to improve and went into the game with purpose and focus. It’s always great to get on the scoresheet and I must commend Sam Mee on brilliant assists today! The prospect of promotion is amazing but we know it’s going to take a lot of focus and hard work to secure that top place”.
