Chichester City win at last - and Girdler goes out in style

A RUN of 17 straight defeats was finally laid to rest when Chichester defeated second-from-bottom St Francis Rangers 4-0 at Oaklands Park in what proved to be Adie Girdler's final game as manager.

The City line-up was considerably beefed up for this relegation dogfight, with one-time Bognor players Guy Rutherford, Warren Hunt and Abdul N’Doye drafted in. St Francis, on the other hand, arrived with a threadbare squad ravaged by injuries.

Chichester were clearly on a mission and had the ball in the net twice early on, but both efforts were ruled out for offside.

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Jack James broke the deadlock on 10 minutes, running through from midfield before taking the ball past keeper Rob Gordon and despatching it into an empty net.

Another goal was added shortly before the interval thanks to a late run by Callum Cutler, who volleyed home unmarked at the far post.

The Saints were more competitive in second half but never really posed enough threat.

In the closing stages they pushed forward but this led to them being caught out at the back and Chichester extended their lead through Joe Briggs (86 minutes) and Hunt (88). Hours later, Girdler quit after talks with the board.

CITY: Batey, Doran, Ford, Boyle, Rutherford, James, Briggs, Cutler, Hunt, Vassallo, N’Doye. Subs: Turvey, Carrington, Cotton.

CHESTER BROWTON

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