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Result - Arundel 4 Chichester City 3
Arundel got off to a winning start in this seasons campaign with a 4-3 victory against Chichester City in the FA Cup (Extra Preliminary round).
On a very hot afternoon both sides lacked composure early on and struggled to play any fluent football, however once they had mastered the conditions and the occasion, they did produce some good flowing football.
The first real action of note came on 13 minutes when Dave Hook in the Chichester goal was forced into action making a very good save to keep out Dave Herbert’s well struck free kick from 22 yards. Only 2 minutes later Arundel took the lead when Alex Biggs rose well at the far post to firmly head home from an Asa Nicholson corner. Arundel’s lead was doubled on 22 minutes when Harry Russell showed great individual skill to score from fully 25 yards with an audacious chip over a stranded Chichester keeper to make it 2-0. Chichester responded well and had their best spell of possession and forced James Fernandes into making a very good save to keep out Kieran Hartley’s fiercely struck angled shot from 14 yards. Arundel then were very fortunate not to concede just before half time, when Ryan Peake sliced a clearance against his own crossbar from 8 yards out.
HT 2-0
Arundel started the second half slowly and Chichester took full advantage by scoring two quick goals, the first came on 50 minutes when Josh Case fired home a good angled shot from 15 yards, then on 57 minutes Scott Jones scored a second from a similar position when unmarked by the Arundel defence. Arundel showed great character and worked hard to regain their composure and were rewarded on 67 minutes when a good flick pass from Dion Jarvis found Asa Nicolson who volleyed home excellently from 15 yards to put Arundel back into the lead. Arundel went close to scoring again on 75 minutes when Harry Russell picked out Lewis Jenkins in the area, but his shot was superbly saved by Dave Hook. On 78 minutes Dave Herbert showed great composure when he calmly rounded his marker and riffled home from 12 yards. The game looked all over at 4-2, however a determined Chichester continued to work hard and reduced the deficit to a single goal when Scott Jones scored from close range on 90 minutes, to make the final 4 minutes of injury time quite tense for all concerned with Arundel and there was a large sigh of relief when referee Nick Bloggs blew the final whistle. FT 4-3
Arundel now play Loxwood (Away) in the next round on 20th August.
Team Information
1. James Fernandes
2. Lewis Jenkins
3. Steve Herbert
4. Jordan Dudas
5. Ryan Peake (Capt)
6. Alex Biggs
7. Nathan DaCosta
8. Dion Jarvis
9. Harry Russell
10. Dave Herbert (78 mins)
11. Asa Nicholson
Subs
12. Craig Rennie
14. Rory Biggs (78 mins)
15. Dan Teeder
16. Ash Hunter
17. Scott Tipper
GK. Stuart McDonald
Attendance - 124
Goal Scorers - A.Biggs (15) D.Jarvis (22) A. Nicholson (67) D.Herbert (78)
Yellow Cards - A.Biggs
Red cards -