Chichester Ladies 1s are South Central Division 1 champions after 5-0 victory

Back on home soil, the girls knew that they needed one more win to secure the league title. Feeling pumped and ready to go Chichester started the first half strong when Chelsea Webster won a penalty corner within the first 5 minutes.

The ball was injected, received by Charlotte Gammon who shot it in to find Lottie Greenlees on the back post slot it in. 1-0 Chichester.

Only 1 minute later, Verena Grave’s silky smooth moves in the D saw Chi win another penalty corner, which saw Gammon whack it bottom corner. Making Chichester 2-0 up after 7 minutes, just the start they needed. Chi continuted to attack Isle of Wight’s D, with Maddie Goldhawk running rings around their right back with the support of Amy Price and Emma Allan. However, their third goal didn’t come for another 25 minutes. A fabulous ball from Jess Stanley at the back found Gammon in the middle of the pitch who a beautiful back and forth with Grave saw them torment Isle of Wight defence, with Grave with the final touch round their keeper and into the back of the net.

Half time whistle blows and the girls were 3-0 up. Entering into the last 35 mins of the half, the girls needed to remain mentally strong and get the result they needed. Isle of Wight came back with a bang and were causing Chi some problems, however the defence of Rosie Smith, Megan Thomas, Laura Hantrais and Stanley were there to prevent any upset.

Young goalkeeping star Jade Collins having to make some critical saves and kept the clean sheet. With 15 minutes left of the match, Hantrais passed the ball to Price who took it on her reverse and scored a brilliant goal whacking the backboard. Isle of Wight with a late flurry saw their striker have a shot in the D, but Thomas managed to stop it just before the line and have Chi the final push they needed to finish the game. With minutes left to go in the match Gammon made a through pass to super sub Sally Bradley at the top of the D, who fooled the Isle of Wight defence before slipping it to Greenlees on the right who put it away and secured the 5-0 victory and a clean sheet for Chichester.

It’s fair to say this team have had an incredible season and deserve to find themselves champions of the league with still 3 games left in the season. They have won 18 out of the 19 games and have a massive goal difference of 59.

Next season will see them compete in South Central Premier 2, which is super exciting for the girls! But for now to finish the last three games strong and enjoy the celebrations!! #YesPlease #UptheChi