Grier's Guide to Worthing
The match: Worthing v Kingstonian, Isthmian League. Tuesday 15 February, 19:45.
The club: 136 years old but they've never been at such a high point as they are now - they've dominated the Isthmian for the past three seasons, only being denied a deserved promotion by the pandemic. They have two quite distinctive nicknames: The Rebels and The Mackerel Men.
The town: Seaside town to the west of Brighton complete with large beach, art deco pier and historic cinema. Oscar Wilde wrote The Importance of Being Earnest there in 1894.
The ground: Woodside Road, Worthing, BN14 7HQ. A good ground for our level with cover at both ends and a good-sized main stand. It has an artificial playing surface, which had some problems when first installed - they ended up sharing in Bognor for half a season while it was fixed.
Tickets: £12 adult, £8 over 65s/students/disabled, £3 13-16, £1 6-12, U6 free. You can buy them online at https://worthingfc.com/club/supporters/tickets/
Directions: It's almost due south from Kingston via a reasonably straight run down the A24 through Dorking. Parking is generally fine in the streets around the ground. By train it's near the station but almost an hour and a half from Clapham Junction with a change at East Croydon.
Our record there: Generally not good, with a 2-1 defeat in Hayden Bird's first season being another in a string of poor results at Worthing.
Players to watch: Oliver Pearce has just returned to the top of the Isthmian goalscoring charts with a hat-trick against Wingate - he's now on 30 for the season in the league alone.
Recent form: Top of the league, as they were when the last two seasons were curtailed, although recent draws with Corinthian-Casuals and Hornchurch have seen Enfield close the gap. They've beaten us twice at King George's Field this season, 4-3 in the league and then 1-0 in the Velocity Trophy.
Crowd: One of the best supported teams in the league and capable of making a bit of noise - they're averaging over 1,000 and there's clearly a massive buzz around their success.
Drinking: The Brooksteed Alehouse is a fine craft beer venue just round the corner from the ground. Anchored in Worthing, near the seafront, is a quirky micropub (and it really is micro) that's well worth a visit if you have time. The Charles Dickens is a good choice for watching live football and The Green Man Ale & Cider House by West Worthing station is another good micropub not too far from the ground.
Food: A Tuesday night in February might test how seasidey you feel but Old Nick's round the corner from the ground doesn't disappoint with its fish and chips.
