Lloyd leaves it late but Chichester City beat leaders Ashford - report and highlights

It was Chi’s fourth win on the bounce in February – a month impacted by three major storms. But as Storm Jorge played havoc with sports fixtures, Chi were happy their match survived.

The league leaders came into this match on the back of a fine run of form that has seen them lose only once in the past 12 Isthmian south east games. They’d scored 20 more goals than their nearest rivals Hastings and fired six past Guernsey last time out.

Miles Rutherford, back in the Chi dugout, with assistant manager Graeme Gee and coach Darin Killpartrick, made one change to the starting XI that beat Hythe – Ryan Peake coming in for Ryan Davidson in the backline.

See the match highlights hereIt was the Nuts and Bolts who started brightest with early chances coming and going for Tom O’Connor and George Purcell. Tommie Fagg found Tariq Ossai but his cross just eluded David Smith before Rob Hutchings gave the visitors the lead against the run of play on eight minutes.

Hutchings, playing in a more advanced role for the second week running, profited from an under-hit header back to keeper Sam Mott and for all Matt Bourne’s attempts to clear on the line, Hutchings managed to squeeze the ball in from an acute angle.

Chi’s lead lasted less than five minutes when Fagg met a delivery from the left to steer a header past Steve Mowthorpe. Moments earlier Smith might have equalised but it was a swing and a miss this time for the Kent team’s top marksman looking for his 24th goal in all competitions.

Purcell struck one over the woodwork and then set up Smith but the Chi shot-stopper got something on his attempt to keep his side in it. Mowthorpe denied Smith again in the 23rd minute with an excellent save, tipping the ball away for a corner.

Smith and Peake were involved in a real duel and the Nuts and Bolts player drew a foul from the Chichester centre back in a dangerous area. Lee Prescott’s free-kick however, was straight at Mowthorpe. Purcell forced Mowthorpe into another save low to his left on the half-hour mark.

Rowlatt linked up with Kaleem Haitham but the cross when it came in was just too far for Matt Axell and headed out for a corner.

Ben Pashley picked up the first of the game’s eight yellow cards on 37 minutes for a foul on Ossai before Ashford forged three decent opportunities. Chi had Peake to thank for snuffing out the first. The second, a Purcell shot, nicked off Pashley and Mowthorpe clawed Prescott’s set-piece away brilliantly.

The game’s major talking point came on the stroke of half-time when referee Kane Dempster brandished a red card to Mo Kamara for a strong tackle on Axell.

Ben Wilson replaced Aaron Condon at the break as the hosts reshuffled and it was the ten men who took the lead five minutes in after Chi failed to clear and Purcell pounced. Wilson and Rowlatt went into the book within the space of a minute giving away free-kicks that first Mott and then Mowthorpe dealt with easily enough.

In a good spell for Chichester, Rowlatt crashed a set-piece into the wall; Jamie Horncastle saw an effort blocked; and Mott parried a shot by Hutchings. The equaliser had been coming and Pashley levelled with his first goal of the season, sweeping the ball beyond Mott after great work from Haitham.

Rory Biggs came on for Pashley, who already on a card, had been given a stern talking to by Mr Dempster for a foul on Ossai. Mowthorpe had a free-kick to gather that moved awkwardly in the swirling wind and then claimed a Wilson cross. Axell next went close with a set-piece after Jake McIntyre was booked for a challenge on Rowlatt.

Smith and Purcell spurned chances with 15 minutes to go before the ref had a decision to make when Corey Heath caught Fagg. He went with a yellow…much to the displeasure of the Homelands crowd.

Rowlatt got the winner with three minutes to go, rifling in a wonderful strike following a slick Chi move.

There was still time for a flurry of more cautions and a bit of defending for Chi to do when they conceded a needless corner deep into stoppage time but Rutherford’s side held out for all three points – they’ve now picked up 18 points out of a possible 21 in the last seven games.

The two teams face each other for a second time in four days on Tuesday night at Oaklands Park. City go into the game six points off a top-five spot and with plenty of games in hand.

Chichester – Mowthorpe, C Cody, Peake, Heath, Hutchings, Horncastle, Jones, Rowlatt, Haitham, Axell. Subs: Biggs, Dunn, G Cody.