Why Chichester's hockey stars came home from Banbury cross

But Banbury were not able to capitalise on this or able to penetrate the Chichester D.

Chichester found ways to get the ball to the forwards, but could not put away their chances.

Banbury were quick to jump on an error and were first to get on the scoresheet.

Chichester continued to create chances and levelled with a short corner that was neatly finished by Paul Wallis.

Chichester had further chances that should have seen the away side go in 3-1 up.

The second half started with early pressure from Banbury, and a weak short-corner beat the Chichester defence and left poor Godsmark stranded in goal.

With eight minutes left Banbury increased their lead with a ball crashed through the D on to the back post for a waiting player.

Chichester pulled the score back to 3-2 with a goal from Alex Baxter but it was too little too late.

Centurions 1 Honeybees 3  

Ladies’ Sussex League  

Honeybees applied pressure from the start, which resulted in an early goal from the edge of the D.

Centurions’ defence battled against Honeybees’ attacking attempts and created some good chances from midfield.

An excellent attempt by Louise Thew was skilfully saved by the Honeybees keeper. Shortly before half-time, an unfortunate deflection off the stick of Lisa Proctor in the D resulted in Honeybees’ second.

Centurions began the second half positively, having much more possession than in the first half. Their efforts were rewarded by a short corner which was converted superbly.

A newcomer to Centurions, Amy Page, proved a valuable asset on the left as she drove forward to provide goalscoring opportunities. Honeybees defence were quick to intercept any attempts despite Centurions passing the ball with renewed vigour.

A fast break by Honeybees midfield resulted in a well-struck goal and with less than five minutes left, Centurions were unable to fight back.

CENTURIONS: B Vaughn, K Eames, A Skinner, N Edge, L Hurford, A Page, L Proctor, L Thew, A Pordage, C Mealing, Molly Johnston.

Centurions are looking for new players. If you are interested, contact captain Louise Thew on 07825 829616.

Chichester’s under-tens (pictured at the top of the article) produced a fine performance at the Haslemere tournament.

They started with a fine 4-0 win against HHC Leopards with strong running up front from Callum Peyman and Oscar Pacey, who shared the goals.

Chichester followed this with a 1-0 win over Havant based on great defence from Charlie Gyles before facing losing 2-0 to Lions.

Chichester defeated Woking 1-0 and Petersfield 2-0 with the forwards backed by energetic support from Christopher Clarke and Georgina Wain in midfield.

Facing Haslemere Cheetahs, Jessica Gleeson got on the scoresheet in a 2-0 win.

The final game was against a well-organised and stronger Fareham side, who beat them 2-0. n But five wins from seven games was outstanding.

CHICHESTER: Gyles, Batchelor R, Turner, Wain, Clarke, Gleeson, Batchelor T, Thomas, Peyman, Pacey.

Chichester II 5 Trinity Mid Whiftgiftians II 4

After another sluggish start, Chichester found themselves 2-0 down. This seemed to spur them on and with two goals from Pendle, one a fantastic solo effort, and one from Lunn, they went into half-time with a 3-2 lead.

The team talk revolved around closing the game out. However a repeat of the first-half performance saw a slow start punished by a penalty stroke and a short corner giving Trinity a 4-3 lead.

Chichester had to fight back and Pendle converted a penalty stroke to seal his hat-trick and Strudwick bundled over a scrappy goal to give the home side the lead.

Chichester held out for their third win from three.

Chichester III 2 Andover II 0

The men’s third XI responded well after a rest weekend with a 2-0 victory over Andover.

A short corner set up by Jonny Dale led to a chance for Hayden Jenkins which narrowly missed the crossbar. Another effort by Josh Odell was well stopped by Andover’s alert keeper.

Chichester started the second half brightly and were rewarded by a superb goal from Dan Moon from a hit into the bottom corner. Andover’s ill discipline was pounced upon by a determined Chichester strike force which resulted in Ben Palmer converting an accurate drag flick from a short corner.

Chichester IV 0 Haslemere III 6

Chichester got off to a sluggish start and were two down within 20 minutes. They made it difficult for themselves by being wasteful in possession and were often guilty of giving the ball away in good positions.

Haslemere III were able quickly move up the field with good passing and movement. Their experience in midfield showed against the youngsters of Chichester.

Good performances came from Kyle Lyons and Tom Worthen (defence) and Freddie Smithers (midfield), with Tom Procter (centre forward) tireless.

CHICHESTER: Austin, Worthen, White, Simmons, Smithers, Whittle, Macey, Lyons, Blanks, Gammon, Procter. Subs: Steeley, McCartain, Lally.

South Saxons III 2 Chichester Chipmunks 1

Chichester made the long trip to Hastings and started strongly, with half-back Jamie Gleeson regularly the extra man in attack combining with Hindmarsh and Lowther to overload Saxons’ defence. Chances came regularly but were not converted with Sowden striking the post from close range.

The second half saw Saxons strike twice in short succession.

Gleeson and Clark pushed the team forward until Futcher picked the ball up in space and drove on into the heart of the Saxons defence, smashing home from close range.

CHICHESTER: Torrance, Clark, Brixey, Neame, Gleeson J, Futcher, Gleeson T, Lowther, Hindmarsh C, Kathegesu, Sowden, Hindmarsh T, Creswick.

Bournemouth Vets 1 Chichester Friars 2

The Friars struggled to get a team together but Milts and Mark Bonham stood in at the last minute.

The Friars never really settled, with Bournemouth enjoying more possession, so it was with some relief that Chris Pacey slotted home a good finish after a great midfield move halfway through the first half.

Despite a strong appeal for a Bournemouth penalty, the score remained 1-0 at half-time.

Bournemouth equalised from a penalty stroke ten minutes into the second half. The Friars created more chances before Bonham scored the winner after a good through-ball with a first-time shot which looped over the Bournemouth keeper, making it four wins from five so far.

Roedean 5 Chichester Bad Habits 0

A confident Roedean took the lead within the first few minutes and dominated the first half, scoring another two goals. Chichester regained composure in the second half with a solid defence. Despite a number of advances on goal, Chichester conceded two more.

CHICHESTER: Duckers, Vincent, Priddle, Willway, Cruttenden, McKie, Gilmour, Lake, Bain, Cleghorn, Medhurst.