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Our first game was a damp Tuesday night up at Whytleafe in the FA Trophy notable for two things – firstly one of the most complete 4-0 victories you are likely to see and secondly, I managed to travel all the way on the train from Arundel to Whyteleafe without buying a ticket. Marvellous scenes. Prior to this game, we signed Sean Edwards from Burgess Hill and he made an impressive debut at right back as the Rebels rolled over the Leafe. A first half header from SAM FRANCIS gave us an interval lead while further goals from FLORIAN MATEOS (a scorching volley), WESLEY LOPEZ and SAM FRANCIS (again) separated the two sides. The only downside was the injury to James Virgo, an injury that was to rule him out for the rest of the campaign.
Next up were Hampton & Richmond Borough and while I was watching Joseph & His Amazingly Coloured Anorak in London we succumbed to a 3-1 home defeat. GLEN DAVIES scored an early goal but it wasn’t enough as three were scored in reply. Andy Lutwyche made his Worthing debut and became the first Worthing player to represent the Senior Football and Cricket sides since Tim Dunn back in 1990. Pooky wasn’t happy with the overall performance and warned the players that there would be big changes made if things didn’t improve.
Monday night (arranged around a Sponsorship Day at Fontwell) saw us entertain the northernmost side in the league, Kettering Town. We emerged 2-0 winners with goals from SHAUN GRICE and MARK KNEE. Several players were rested for this Bryco Cup (Don’t Miss It!) match.
The next visitors were Windsor & Eton in our first “return” match of the season. Laden with Christmas shopping, I watched a decent game where the points were shared. The goals came from SHAUN GRICE and DARREN FREEMAN as the Rebels missed chances to secure all three points. Notable was the debut of newest signing – Goalkeeper, Will Packham, an ex-Albion ‘keeper who had signed after an unhappy spell at Farnborough Town.
The final away trip of December saw us visit The Phoenix Club in Molesey. Their ramshackle ground was Brian Potter-esque (complete with leaking roof, caravan outside and a resident DJ repairing his dodgy mobile set-up and blasting out Chic at high volume), and we controlled a poor game winning 2-0 thanks to two SAM FRANCIS strikes.
We did actually play most of a game on 27th as we entertained Lewes. In fact we played 70 minutes of a game in torrential rain and were “winning” 2-0 before the referee abandoned proceedings. Although both sets of fans took the decision graciously (and there were around 1,500 in the ground), the Lewes players leapt around as if they had won the World Cup having been informed of the abandonment. But it was not to be and we approached 2004 still in the FA Trophy, the Bryco Cup (Don’t Miss It!) and the Senior Cup, as well as being set of the top 6 finish we were striving for. 2004 could be an exciting year…
League Record so far – P 21, W 11, D 6, L 4, F 40, A 22, Pts 39, GD +18
Players In – Sean Edwards (Burgess
Hill Town), Will Packham (Farnborough Town), Andy Lutwyche (Horsham YMCA),
Kevin Keehan (Bradford City – On Loan), Richard Lewis (Withdean
2000), Paul Brown (Withdean 2000), Michael Oakley (Withdean 2000)
Players Out – None
The “We want Lloyd Back” Grumbleometer from the bus stop rating – still 9/10, they’re still not happy!
7th Feb 2004