Chichester ladies' FA Cup hopes are dealt a Hammer blow

With West Ham second in the league two divisions above Chichester it was always going to be a tall order for the Lillywhites.

Chichester started positively as strikers Shrubb and Evans pressed the West Ham defence. That resulted in Chichester winning a series of corners, but West Ham’s superiority in the air prevented Chichester from turning it into goals.

Having soaked up early pressure, West Ham broke down the right on 12 minutes and a cross into the goalmouth found a waiting West Ham striker to neatly slot home.

Chichester created several chances of their own. Richardson and Madden battled away in the middle with captain Willett covering vast amounts of ground on the left.

West Ham played another ball through to their striker, who appeared offside – but the decision wasn’t given and the striker went on to make it 2-0.

To add insult to injury the Hammers scored a third after a superb save from McNamara was tipped on to the post. Paul failed to clear and it edged across the line.

But Chichester did themselves proud and can now focus on the league - starting with Crawley Wasps’ visit to Oaklands Park this Sunday (2pm), when some of last week’s great local support will be welcome again.