Worthing Preview
On Saturday, following the jubilant celebrations at Cray Wanderers and the subsequent excitement of our FA Cup First Round home draw against Harborough Town, we return to National League South action at Worthing, who themselves progressed in the FA Cup with a comfortable win at Plymouth Parkway.
Our trip to Woodside Road is a well-trodden path in recent years and, in all honesty, one that hasn’t bore much fruit and has been the venue of some memorable visits for all the wrong reasons.
For those supporters who are making their first visit to the West Sussex club here is what you can expect from the facilities.
As you enter the stadium, to the left, is the South Stand, below which is a well appointed bar which is accompanied by a further two outside bars. Please note that, in a change to previous visits, standing in front of this stand is no longer allowed.
Newly built, and to be fully opened for the first time for our visit, is a full length of covered terracing on the north side of the ground.
Behind the Woodside Road end, there is covered terracing whilst at the opposite end there is uncovered standing.
The stadium catering is housed in the corner between the Woodside Road terrace and the Main Stand, our resident “footy foodie”, David Knight recalls his gourmet experience from past visits: “The once organised chaos in the food hut of several seasons ago is now nothing but a distant memory. A group of people all too eager to help each other, resulting in the aforementioned chaos. Once a poorly structured/written menu, you were never really sure of what was actually available. This has now been replaced with a well-structured, but seemingly more limited and uninspiring manufactured menu. Whether it is an improvement in speed of service or a lack of interest, the queues that once were are no longer. Probably better than some grounds can offer, but for me bring back the chaos.”
Train travellers will have a gentle 10-15 minute stroll from Worthing Station whilst those arriving by car will find parking at the stadium limited, or should we say non-existent. There is plenty of on-street parking within easy walking distance but please park considerately in what is exclusively a residential area.
As said in the opening couple of paragraphs, Lady Luck has never been on our side at Worthing, sadly we have to say we have never won there. Last season, on the opening day, we were within seconds of coming away with a well-earned point when our old friend Nicky Wheeler curled a shot, that let’s face it, we all knew he was capable of, into the top corner to send our supporters home again with nothing to show for the journey.
On the playing side, following Adam Hinshelwood’s departure to York City at the back end of February, Chris Agutter, took over the reins after a successful spell at Hastings United. Agutter has had to reshape his squad following the departure of the prolific Ollie Pearce and defender Joe Felix, who followed Hinshelwood north, but he has made more than a decent start with only two defeats in their opening National League South fixtures leave them in 11th place, but only three points off the play-off places, a position that is slightly false given that, because of the building of the new terracing, they had to start the season with six away games, having only played three home and seven away in the league. Matt Davison highlights who to look out for: “The most familiar name to Angels fans in the Worthing line up is the aforementioned Nicky Wheeler. The exciting winger started just under 100 games for the Angels between 2015 and 2017, providing a fair few number of assists, usually onto the head of Nathan Elder. Other players to watch include striker Mo Faal, who was playing down the A26 last year, joined Crawley Town in the summer but shortly left for Worthing, while their top scorer with seven league and cup goals is Danny Cashman, a former Brighton and Coventry youth player.”
Our manager Jay Saunders looked forward to the fixture after the Cray Wanderers game: “Worthing’s a really tough place to go, obviously Worthing are a good side but it’s about getting back to it and we look forward to it.”
Admission prices for the game are Adults: £17; Concessions: £13.00; Youths (13-16 years): £7.00; Children (6-12 years) who must be accompanied by an adult: £4 and Under-6 Free accompanied by an adult. Tonbridge Angels supporters should buy their online tickets through the Away Fans section HERE. Payment on the turnstile can be by cash or card. Turnstiles will be open from 12 noon and please note bag searches will be in operation.