Chichester students beat Portsmouth in extra-time Conference Cup drama

The University of Chichester's football thirds had to rely on extra-time as they emerged victorious over Portsmouth fourths with a 5-2 win in the first round of the South Eastern Conference Cup.
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The home side were awarded a penalty when Will Cooke was brought down, having driven forward from left-back. Matt Brewer was fortunate, scrappily turning home the rebound when his initial spot kick was saved by the Portsmouth goalkeeper.

Chichester turned on the style for their second. Some neat build-up play in the midfield provided Jack Mallett with the space to whip an inviting cross to the back post, where Brewer volleyed home calmly. The double means Chichester’s top scorer takes his tally to five for the season in all competitions.

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Going in with a two-goal lead at the interval, the hosts looked to be cruising, but it would not continue. Portsmouth came out the blocks sharp in the second period and soon pulled one back after their striker tucked home just after the hour mark.

Chi's thirds celebrate one of the goals that beat Portsmouth / Picture by Jordan ColborneChi's thirds celebrate one of the goals that beat Portsmouth / Picture by Jordan Colborne
Chi's thirds celebrate one of the goals that beat Portsmouth / Picture by Jordan Colborne

That goal galvanised the visitors and they soon struck an equaliser as their winger won the ball high up the field and coolly slotted the ball in at the near post.

Portsmouth continued to dominate and almost won it late on but they somehow managed to hit the post with the goal at their mercy. Chichester endured the pressure and held on to force an additional 30 minutes as it finished 2-2.

Extra-time displayed the gulf in class between the two as Chichester found another gear. Joe Zemaitis grabbed a quickfire double in the first half of extra time. He raced clear of the fatiguing Portsmouth defence and clinically slid the ball in to the bottom corner. His second was almost a carbon copy and, as the away side appealed for offside, Zemaitis was left to simply simply pass the ball past the goalkeeper.

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Any thoughts of another comeback were short-lived when Chichester put the game to bed in the final fifteen minutes. As Liam Conolly broke forward, he was denied from the edge of the area with the ball landing kindly for winger Mike Connolly to tap in to the empty net and put the result out of sight.

This would be the last piece of action and the result sees the end of Portsmouth’s cup campaign, whilst Chichester advance to the second round for an away tie at Roehampton.

* Both the men’s and women’s first football teams were away at St Mary’s in BUCS South Eastern 1A division fixtures.

The men maintained their perfect start to the season after a 1-0 win with the women settling for a share of the spoils in a goalless draw against the current league leaders.

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Men’s and women’s hockey ones are through to the next round of the cup after victories over Imperial and Reading respectively.

Men’s volleyball won for a third successive week after a straight sets victory away at Queen Mary.

Men’s lacrosse edged a tight encounter with Middlesex 9-8 whilst the women’s side beat Brighton 13-9.

After their win against Brighton last time out netball ones suffered a heavy 60-21 defeat to Surrey.

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In rugby, a last-minute penalty gave the men’s second team a dramatic 22-21 comeback win over Reading at the Field of Dreams. Women’s futsal beat Hertfordshire 12-1 in their home opener. Chloe Simmonds and Hannah Humphreys both bagged hat-tricks with Holly Muirhead, Rosie Willis, Teri Foster (2) and Laura Barton (2) also on target for Chichester.

The men’s futsal side trailed 3-0 at half time against South Bank but came away from London with a point after the game finished 5-5.