Chichester made hard work
of this must win fixture, all credit must go to the opposition for working
tirelessly throughout the game.
From the word go, Chi were
camped out in Lordswoods half, however, it must have been a good ten minutes
into the game before Chi had their first strike on goal. Frustration set in and
some players found this detrimental to their performance and the team as a
whole.
Harris provided some
stability with her breakthrough goal. Arriving late for a corner she managed to
scramble control and poke home for Chi to take the lead. Five minutes later, it
appeared that lightning does strike twice as the captain struck for the second
time in two weeks. A cleared attempt fell to Wolfenden, controlling with her
chest and striking into the top corner on the half volley. This brought the
confidence that had rapidly disappeared back to Chi. The team passed the ball,
switched played and continued to create chance after chance.
Richardson stepped up and
came close with a well placed shot, only to find herself in an identical
position moments later, this time smashing home for the third.
Dubious off side was a
frustrating element to the game, with every through ball being played the flag
was raised. Chi worked from midfield, asking Wolfenden, Richardson, Field and
Teague to drive forward before playing the final ball. Laura Brander capitalised
from this tactic slotting a fine finish home after some fantastic running.
Richardson added to the tally with her second, an excellent side footed volley
from a well delivered corner.
The second half saw Chi
push more players forward, playing three at the back. Lordswood found some extra
energy causing all manner of problems for the first ten minutes of the half. Chi
eventually found their structure after the scare of an amazing long range strike
from the opponents to rattle the bar.
Chi played well, but lacked
a little with the final ball, this in conjunction with the frustrations of the
continual offside saw tired legs from the busy fixtures schedule get even more
tired. The football lacked quality for the most part, but players were still
prepared to work as hard as they could. Several chances went begging, with the
opposition keeper having a great game to reduce the score even further.
Phillips added a final goal
for Chichester after working the ball well, turning to strike beneath the
keeper. Chichester must ensure they produce the best possible football to get
all six points from the final double header of the season against Upper Beeding
at Church Road on Sunday 6th May.
TEAM:
S. Pennington, E. Brand, L.
Harris, M. Lodge, N. Hathaway, M. Field, A. Richardson, S.Wolfenden, E. Teague,
L. Brander, C Broughton.
SUBS:
L. Phillips, L.
Streeter.
SCORERS: Harris, Wolfenden, Richardson (2), Brander,
Phillips
REPORTER: Sarah Wolfenden