Worthing FC and Forest Green Rovers meet at Woodside Road this weekend with both clubs already on three points after opening the National League with 3-2 away wins. For Worthing, it is a first fifth-tier home match to build on; for Forest Green, it is another chance to underline early promotion credentials.
Adam Hinshelwood’s side arrived after beating Carlisle United 3-2 in their National League opener, a result that gave Worthing a strong start to life at this level. Forest Green, meanwhile, opened their 2026/27 campaign by beating FC Halifax Town 3-2 and come into the game after a period in which they have been tipped to challenge near the top again.
Worthing's first home test at this level
Worthing’s win at Carlisle United was their first National League outing, so the visit of Forest Green brings a different kind of pressure. Away from home, they showed enough resilience and ambition to take all three points, but Woodside Road will now test whether they can carry that same edge into their own ground.
Hinshelwood said Ashley Nathaniel-George and Bailey Smith had not recovered in time to feature at Woodside, which leaves Worthing with a couple of absences to manage. Even so, the main storyline remains their ability to keep turning good moments into points as they adjust to the demands of the division.
Forest Green arrive with momentum
Forest Green’s 3-2 win over FC Halifax Town was exactly the kind of opening they would have wanted. It follows a difficult recent backdrop in which they were in League One in the 2022/23 season, then finished in the top seven last season before falling short in the play-offs.
That context matters because it shows why the Gloucestershire club are still being viewed as one of the sides to watch in the National League. They have enough experience, enough expectation, and enough quality to make promotion the obvious target, even if the season has only just begun.
The same can be said for the standings picture after one game. Both Worthing FC and Forest Green Rovers have started with three points, both have already shown they can score goals away from home, and both now have a chance to turn an opening win into a real early statement.
The question this weekend is simple enough. Can Worthing back up their Carlisle result on home soil, or will Forest Green’s early momentum prove too strong at Woodside Road?
