Newhaven 0 v 3 Worthing

Tuesday 18th November 2025, Kick-off 19.45

Sussex Senior Cup Round Three

Fort Road, Newhaven

Admission: £8.00

Programme: £1.00

Attendance: 200 (estimate)

A match report from a Newhaven perspective can be read by clicking here, and from a Worthing perspective by clicking here , also copied and pasted below

Newhaven 0 Worthing 3, Sussex Senior Cup Round 3, Tuesday 18th November 2025

Newhaven faced one of their biggest matches in many-a-year last night when they welcomed National League South side Worthing to Fort Road in the Sussex Senior Cup.

For the past few seasons, Worthing have consistently been Sussex’s top-performing non-league side, with aspirations of eventually making the jump to full professional level.

This was always going to be a monumental test for a very young Dockers side; even more so given the strong starting 11 the visitors fielded, and the electric run of form they are currently on.

Let’s make no bones about it, Worthing are a good side. A very good side.

Right from kick-off that much was clear to see. Their speed of movement and thought - both on and off the ball - made it seem like, whether defending or attacking, they always had an extra player on the park. There’s a reason the Rebels are currently, and have for the past few seasons been, challenging for promotion to the National League.

But, and here’s the thing, for long spells last night Newhaven coped. More than that, actually; they competed. Made life difficult for their supremely talented opponents.

In fact, despite seeing little of the ball, it was the Dockers who actually created the game’s first two chances. Both came courtesy of former Worthing player Ezra Roeg; the first a shot that forced the Rebel’s keeper into a comfortable save, the second a close-range header that he probably should have done better with.

After an opening 20-minutes in which Newhaven defended brilliantly, not allowing Worthing a single shot on goal, the chances did eventually start to arrive for the visitors.

Nicky Wheeler hit the post, before Nathan Odokonyero scuffed the rebound wide. Roman Chiosa then made a good stop to keep out Joe Cook’s deflected effort.

Newhaven, though, were not giving up any easy chances, with their low block doing a great job of stifling Worthing’s attacking flow.

When the opening goal did arrive on the half-hour amrk, there was little anyone could have done about it. Sometimes you just have to doff your cap and applaud a moment of pure quality. And that was the case here. Razzaq Coleman De-Graft made space for himself down the right, before cutting inside and finding the corner from around 25 yards out.

Worthing squandered another couple of chances before the break, but at half-time the visitors were just a solitary goal ahead; and that a wonder strike. 

Probably against most people’s expectations, Newhaven were still very much in the game. And given how hard they’d just worked, they fully deserved to be.

Unfortunately, just five minutes into the second-half, Worthing doubled their lead. Once again courtesy of a wonder strike. Odokonyero finding the top corner of the net with a swerving effort from a long-way out. Once again there was little the Dockers could have done to prevent the goal.

Still, though, Newhaven continued to show plenty of heart and spirit.

On 57 minutes, they were handed a potential route back into the game when Elliott Bresciani was shoved over in the area.

Up stepped Roeg, but his effort was saved by Josh Jefferies, who also reacted quickly to snuff out the rebound. It was the seventh (by my count) penalty we’ve missed this season! (The first by Ezra, I should hasten to add).

Within minutes, the game as a contest was put to bed. George Cox lost his marker at a corner and found space inside the six-yard box to head home.

3-0 down with almost half-an-hour still to play, you could have been forgiven for fearing the worst. Newhaven’s players had worked incredibly hard and there would have been some tired legs on that pitch. The Docker’s cause wasn’t helped by Worthing making a raft of substitutions that saw a few more first teamers introduced to the field of play.

Once again, though, the Docker’s boys showed true grit and determination to continue to make life difficult for their opponents.

True, Worthing had more opportunities to add to the scoreline, but Newhaven had their moments too.

The best of these came with 15-minutes remaining when Robbo burst down the left and crossed for fellow sub Teddy Wood, who once again tested the Worthing goalkeeper.

Come full-time, there could be little doubt about the fact the better side had won. Nor could there be any doubt regarding the fact that Newhaven’s players had done themselves – and everyone involved with the club – proud. They’d given everything to the cause, and were it not for two wonder goals and a lapse of concentration at a set-piece who knows what might have happened?

Worthing were a class act both on and off the pitch, though, and we wish them the best of luck going forward.

It’s back to league action on Saturday as we host neighbours Seaford Town at Fort Road for the third time this season. Let’s hope we can make it three wins from three games against them – if we perform like we did last night then we’ve got every chance of doing so.   

We then visit play-off chasing Forest Row on 29th November, as we look to end what has been a decent month for us so far on a high.

We hope to see as many of you as possible at both matches.

Come On You Dockers!

 My man of the match (aka, the controversial part): Elliott Bresciani. I’ll be honest, had I not chickened out and given this award to the whole team on Saturday, I would have done so here. It seems really unfair to pick one player above another given how brilliant they all were. However, two consecutive cop outs seems cowardly (even for me) so Bresciani just gets the nod for his overall defensive performance, but also his braveness on the ball (one driving run forward sticks in mind) and the fact he won the penalty.

Sussex Transport Senior Cup Report: Newhaven 0-3 Worthing

Match Report by Finn Honeywood

Worthing progressed to the quarter-finals of the Sussex Transport Senior Cup with a 3-0 win against Southern Combination Premier Division side Newhaven at the Trafalgar Ground.

Razzaq Coleman De-Graft put the visitors ahead with a fine effort from distance, before a fantastic strike by Nathan Odokonyero doubled the Rebels’ lead after half time. Josh Jeffries saved a penalty to keep the score at 2-0, before Joe Cook nodded in a third from a corner to safely secure our passage in the County Cup.

Adam Hinshelwood made five alterations to the side that started in the 4-0 victory over Tonbridge Angels in the FA Trophy at the weekend: Finlay Chadwick made his first appearance since rejoining the club earlier this month, while Cook, Nicky Wheeler, Sam Packham and Coleman De-Graft all came into the starting eleven.

Despite Worthing having the majority of possession through the opening quarter of an hour, it was Newhaven who produced the first efforts on goal.

A long ball in behind the visitors’ backline was latched onto by Ezra Roeg, who fired low into the palms of Jeffries from the edge of the box.

Five minutes later, having found space inside the area, Roeg headed over the bar in following a free-kick delivery from the left flank, albeit the linesman had raised his flag.

The Rebels soon began to pry open the Newhaven defensive setup, with Coleman De-Graft skewing wide from close-range after he was found by Kwaku Frimpong.

Soon after, Nicky Wheeler struck the post after drifting infield, with Odokonyero unable to react quick enough to the rebound.

It took until the 30th minute for the deadlock to broken, and it was Worthing who opened the scoring as Coleman De-Graft unleashed a brilliant curling effort past the outstretched glove of Roman Chiosa in the Newhaven goal. A moment of quality in a half of football which lacked any real cutting edge from either side.

Chadwick spurned a massive chance to double the away side’s advantage following the restart after a long ball into the box by Packham fell kindly to the midfielder, but he could not beat Chiosa from close-range.

The travelling Rebels would find a second goal only minutes later, however, courtesy of a stunning strike from Odokonyero from 30 yards out.

With a moment of space in a central position, the striker rifled a swerving effort into Chiosa’s top right corner with just over half an hour to play.

Newhaven had a great opportunity to half Worthing’s lead just shy of the hour mark, when Coleman De-Graft was penalised for a foul inside the visitors’ penalty area following an attack for the hosts.

Up stepped Roeg, who saw his effort kept out by a strong save from Josh Jeffries. The Southampton loanee was understandably desperate to keep fifth successive clean sheet, with his goal now not being reached in over 450 competitive minutes.

Having gone close to getting on the scoresheet, Newhaven would soon find themselves 3-0 down after Joe Cook headed in at the back post following an in-swinging corner delivery from Wheeler.

Debutant Ollie Godziemski, who was part of a quintuple substitution in minute 64, had an opportunity to mark his first appearance with a goal, taking the ball round Chiosa who had come way out of his goal, however the angle did not suit the stronger right foot of Godziemskj and the effort was pulled wide of the mark.

A comfortable result in the end for the visitors, despite the persistent efforts of Newhaven to cause Worthing problems on the break.