Chichester City United slipped quietly out of the F.A.Cup on Saturday as they went down 3-1 at Abingdon Town in a low key encounter.

A lush pitch beside the Thames at Abingdon should have provided the perfect conditions for an exciting cup tie but somehow Chi never really seemed to get out of first gear. Their Ryman League hosts generally looked sharper and quicker to the ball and the visitors seldom retained possession for long enough to show what they could do.

Chi even had the advantage of scoring the opening goal against the run of play. A dreadful back pass from Johnson gifted the ball to Mark Jackson in the 21st minute and his cross picked out Roger Moore unmarked in front of goal to score from close range for his fifth goal of the season.

Abingdon then had an effort disallowed for offside but drew level on 36 minutes when Paul Jones was adjudged to have brought down Chris Potter and the same player stepped up to score from the penalty spot.

A brief spell at the start of the second half suggested Chi were still in with a shout. Jamie Laidlaw vollied one effort over the crossbar, saw another attempt come back off the 'keeper and substitute, Neil Murfin, was intercepted at the last moment as he threatened to outpace the home defence.

But Chi were to regret those missed chances as Potter grabbed a second goal for Abingdon twelve minutes from the end. It wasn't quite over yet as Chi struggled to get back on terms but the home side were growing in confidence and when the Tom Butler whacked another shot against the crossbar, Chris Harper was following up to make it 3-1.

Now it really was all over and Abingdon could look forward to meeting Chi's old rivals, Ringmer, in the next round.