Shoreham joint boss Jason Rutherford hailed his County Leaguers after they pushed Worthing all the way in the Sussex Senior Cup quarter-final.

Shoreham, fourth bottom in division one, took the Ryman premier division leaders into extra time and were unlucky to lose at Middle Road last night.

Rutherford said: "I couldn't have asked for any more from the players. Every single one worked as hard as he could and made it difficult for them.

"Anyone who had walked in and didn't know what divisions the teams were in would not have guessed who was the County League side.

"It is just frustrating we don't play like that every week. We have shown now we have the quality, we just need to be more consistent."

Worthing joint manager Danny Bloor said players will be leaving after his side's performance.

He said: "I'm not surprised with the way Shoreham played, they have some good players and they had a game plan, so we knew it wasn't going to be easy.

"We got the result which was the main thing but I was not entirely happy with our performance. People will be leaving and arriving in the next 14 days but I can't say any names yet."

The Rebels made changes to their line up but still fielded a strong line-up.

Former QPR striker Richard Pacquette and ex-Albion frontman Stafford Browne, who were on the bench at the weekend, returned to form a fearful strike partnership before the county leaguers.

However, it was clear from the start that Shoreham were not going to roll over for their more illustrious opponents.

Miles Scerri had already gone close with a glancing header when the Musselmen took a surprise ninth minute lead.

Top scorer Shaheen Sadough gave keeper Chuck Martini no chance with a powerful low drive from the edge of the box.

The expected response from Worthing did not materialise and the home side almost doubled their advantage on 18 minutes.

Leftback Matt Hill forced Martini into a full-length flying save with an angled 20-yard shot.

Fears of an upset among the numerous Worthing fans eased three minutes later when Shoreham skipper Matt Hurley gifted Worthing the equaliser.

The unfortunate defender badly miscued a cross and shinned it up and over his keeper Ronan Callaghan.

Despite the full blow, Shoreham kept working hard and Sadough twice went close before half-time.

He had a close-range shot deflected over after he had reacted quickest to a loose ball in a crowded box.

The former Crawley forward then saw his side-footed effort saved by Martini after he had eluded the visiting defense.

Shoreham continued to cause Worthing problems after the break and should have scored within three minutes of the re-start when Chris Hibberd fired straight at Martini after being sent clean through.

The miss looked as though it was the turning point as Rebels took the lead four minutes later.

Pacquette took advantage of some slack marking at a corner to power in a header from six yards.

But Shoreham were not finished and they leveled 13 minutes from time through a spectacular strike from Sadough, who hammered into the bottom corner from 20 yards.

Pacquette hit the bar in the first half of extra time with a miss-hit cross from the right flank.

Substitute Dean Venton then struck the woodwork for the hosts two minutes after the turnaround with a curling free-kick.

Browne finally won it for Rebels with three minutes remaining with a volley which looped over the head of Callaghan.

Shoreham: R. Callaghan; Townsend, Hill, Hurley, Gainsford, Jordan, Hibberd, Callaghan, MacMillan (sub Venton 77), Scerri, Sadough. Subs not used: Boiling, Bentley, Farrelly, Downer.

Worthing: Martini; Lutwyche, Knee, Andrews, Cable, Davis (sub Collins 78), Rogers (sub Grice 75), Pacquette, Browne, Brotherton, Charles. Subs not used: Alexander, Francis, Leaver.

Referee: W. Atkin (Crawley)

Man-of-the-match: Shaheen Sadough (Shoreham).

Attendance: 330.