Chichester students' futsal team clinch title

It was an important week for a number of University of Chichester sport teams with title credentials.
The University of Chichester's men's volleyball team / Picture by John GeesonThe University of Chichester's men's volleyball team / Picture by John Geeson
The University of Chichester's men's volleyball team / Picture by John Geeson

Women’s futsal clinched the Premier South title and other teams going well at the top of their leagues are at the sharp end of the season with a handful of games to go.These include men’s rugby, who crushed New Bucks at home on the bottom pitch, while men’s tennis swept Brunel aside 12-0. Men’s table tennis, still unbeaten in the league this season, defeated their nearest rivals Kent to finish top in South Eastern 1A.The men’s ultimate frisbee side were involved in cup action and booked a semi-final place after a 15-10 win away at Essex. Mixed golf beat Essex in the last four of the Conference Cup and face Reading in the final at Goodwood. Women’s football first team, who finished runners-up in Premier South this year, took on Stirling at home in the quarter-final of the Championship in an early kick-off on Wednesday. Stirling went ahead on 13 minutes in controversial circumstances. WSIHE defenders stopped for a linesman’s flag as their opponents broke down the right flank but there was no whistle from the referee and Kim Guthrie beat Trodd with a low drive. Chichester did get back in the game, though, in the 20th-minute from the penalty spot through Laura Ingram. Four minutes later Stirling regained the lead when Rachel Donaldson finished off a slick move from close range. Trodd kept her team in it with a great stop and her counterpart did well at the other end to gather a dangerous cross whipped in from a corner. A super delivery from the right just needed a telling touch from a WSIHE forward, then a dink over the top was just too heavy for Hannah Humphreys with ten minutes to go. Stirling, who rarely troubled Trodd in the second half, might have scored in the 86th-minute following a break away but the shot crashed into the side-netting.There was almost late drama in the third minute of stoppage-time when Sophie Phelps’ effort curled agonizingly over the woodwork. The men’s football second team hosted table-toppers Portsmouth in an unsurprisingly feisty affair that saw a player from each side sent off, alongside six yellow cards. A Portsmouth free-kick from just outside the box was headed narrowly over after only three minutes. For Chichester, Rafael Santos wasn’t far off with a header when Kelvin Robinson’s cross picked him out. Then Drew Smith fired over on 15 minutes as the ball sat up nicely.The visitors took the lead 15 minutes later when a free-kick was headed in at the far post. Portsmouth pressed in the second half but were denied by a string of good saves in a ten minute spell before Rory Wood equalized for the hosts, tucking the ball away with two minutes left. There might have even been a WSIHE winner in stoppage-time but the Pompey keeper somehow managed to get a glove to a fierce header and palmed it round the post. The second team, in a relegation scrap with Brighton, Brunel and Roehampton are unbeaten in four games now. Elsewhere in men’s football it was another tough week. The fours lost 4-1 to Kingston, Reading beat the fifth men’s team 2-0 and the sixes, in second place, were beaten away at St Mary’s, losing ground on league leaders Surrey. The five WSIHE netball teams are in battles at both ends of the table. The fives beat New Bucks 59-14 to maintain their title tilt, the threes won 59-22 against the same uni but the first team were beaten by Brighton.Men’s volleyball first team lost 3-0 to Brunel for their third defeat in a row. The visitors led for most of the first set before WSIHE got back into things at 15-16, only for Brunel to push on in the latter stages and take it 25-20. The second set was close all the way to 19-19 but then Brunel won six of the next seven points to go two sets up. The home side started the third set well and were a couple of points away from taking it. However, once again their opponents dug in and closed it out 26-24.The women’s volleyball team lost 3-1 away to Surrey.