A dominant first-half display was enough to hand Worthing Town the Sussex Girls Challenge Cup (Under-16s), as they beat Saywell Hawks at Culver Road on Sunday afternoon.

A brace from Katelon Goldsmith and a hat-trick from Grace Watkins allowed Worthing to lift the Sussex Girls Challenge Cup in impressive fashion. A goal from Maisie Guymer and a free-kick brace from Millie Townsend only proved to be consolation for Saywell in a final packed with goals.

It was Worthing who began the opening exchanges on the front foot, as they gained an early advantage after just two minutes when Watkins was first to react to a loose ball and rounded goalkeeper Stella Judkins to slot her side into the lead.

However, just one minute later Saywell equalised through Guymer, as she pounced on a through ball from Hannah Ives and beat the Worthing goalkeeper with a delightful chipped effort.

After a brief end-to-end period, Worthing managed to regain a foothold in the match, and in the 11th minute Watkins added a second to her tally, after Goldsmith picked her out with a pinpoint through ball.

Worthing then extended their lead in the 20th minute from a corner, as Goldsmith found herself free in the penalty area and nodded home at the near post. Saywell believed they pulled one back just a minute later, through Guymer once more, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

Worthing looked to build on this dominant spell in the game, and just a minute before the interval they added a fourth. Goldsmith found herself in acres of space in the opposition penalty area, as she tapped home her second of the game with Watkins turning provider this time around. The goal meant that Worthing went into the break 4-1 to the good.

Saywell began the second-half in a much more positive manner, applying a higher press in an attempt to catch out their opposition, with Lilymae Van Drongelen enjoying a lot of space down the right channel. Their pressure eventually paid dividends in the 61st minute, as captain Townsend bent in a free-kick that evaded everybody in the penalty box and brushed off the far post into the net.

Their celebrations were short-lived however, as just five minutes later Watkins rounded off her hat-trick with some tidy footwork and a superb near-post finish.

Despite being three down Saywell proved that they were not to be beat without a fight, as Townsend added her second and Saywell’s third just three minutes from the final whistle through another powerful, long-ranged free-kick. 

Saywell Hawks produced an impressive second-half performance, but Worthing Town’s first-half dominance proved too much of a deficit to reduce for the Hawks.

Worthing Town manager, Jamie Osbourne, was delighted with his side’s victory: “It was a great game, they were never going to lie down and make it easy for us.

“I think the girls were tired, they got worked pretty hard, yeah, so overall it went decent!”

(A selection of photographs can be found on Facebook - courtesy of Simon Roe Photography)
(Video highlights are available above and on YouTube - courtesy of Your Instant Replay)

Stats: (Saywell Hawks-Worthing Town)
Goals: 3-5; Shots: 6-13; Shots-on-target: 5-10; Corners: 3-4; Fouls 5-5; Offsides: 2-2; Yellows: 0-0, Reds: 0-0.

Saywell Hawks: Judkins, Van Drongelen, Ives, Morgan, Tudor, De-Lillis, Bricker, Trinidad, Townsend ©, Akmenkalns, Guymer.
Subs: Maysey, Lindup, Kersey.

Worthing Town: Lewington, Rose, Bishop ©, Harding, Williams, Lownds, Carey, Lovelock, Meehan, Watkins, Goldsmith.
Subs: Forster, Calvert.

Match report by Alex Nicolaou