Pain in rain for Rocks: Chichester City put four past Bognor Regis Town
and on Freeview 262 or Freely 565
City have been in superb form since their unexpected promotion from the south east division last season – this win, their fourth in five games, took them to the giddy heights of seventh. The Rocks have had a dismal season and though they are expected to improve under new bosses Michael Birmingham and Jamie Howell, the upturn has yet to show itself.
So in front of a bumper but rain-swept New Year’s Day crowd of 1,322, it was perhaps no surprise that City – with ex-Rocks favourite Darin Killpartrick and Danny Potter at the helm with Miles Rutherford away – were comfortable winners.
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Hide AdEx-Rocks Lloyd Rowlatt and Jimmy Wild were among the scorers, just to add insult to injury for the hosts.


Bognor had the first half chance as a clearance attempt by the Chichester defence bounced off Jasper Mather and narrowly wide on 7 minutes. A left sided corner by City’s Ethan Prichard met the head of Ryan Davidson in the box but his attempt bounced wide of the right post on 8 minutes. City took the lead after only 10 minutes. Isaac Bello did well to slip a neat pass through on the deck between the defence to Rowlatt, who slotted it inside the post. Pritchard diverted a free-kick over the crossbar on 13 minutes before Tommy Block went into the book for reacting after a sliding tackle.
Wild, playing against his old team, slid on to a long pass to shoot along the turf and forced Ryan Hall into a save. Mather was set through on 19 minutes when an inspired cross by Spencer Spurway saw Kieran Magee mistimed his run, allowing the striker in. But Mather didn't get any power in the shot and the ball was cleared. Davies went into the book before Davidson was shown yellow for a similar offence in difficult conditions with 20 minutes gone. Mather diverted a cross from the left wide with his head from Matt Burgess's free-kick. Burgess was blocked with his chance after a neat ball from Harvey Whyte on 27 minutes. Dion Jarvis played the ball forward to Mather, who dug out a cross from the left, but Magee gathered it on 37 minutes. On 39 minutes City extended their lead as Joe Clarke scissor-kicked the ball into the net after Bognor failed to clear a corner. He was unmarked and his effort beat Hall to his left. New Rocks loan signing Ollie Starkey went into the book on 40 minutes after a late challenge. Little was going right for Bognor and Jarvis found the side netting with his corner on 44 minutes. Wild had a quick run inside from the byline to have another go but he won a corner after it was deflected into the side netting. HT 0-2 Pritchard got Chichester City's third on 50 minutes as Hall failed to clear and the bouncing ball fell to the forward, who fired it into the net with the goalkeeper stranded. Bognor got a goal back on 52 minutes. Mather made a good run before finishing low into the net beyond a diving Magee. Jarvis won a free-kick with a strong run before Davies hit one into the side netting on 54 minutes. Burgess did well to find Mather ahead of him and he beat his man and his low strike was denied by a stop from Magee at his near post on 60 minutes. Wild netted Chichester's fourth on 63 minutes. A square pass picked him out unmarked and he smashed it home with his left foot from the edge of the box. Jarvis swung a ball in and it bounced to Dan Gifford who passed it back outside the box to Doug Tuck, but he sent it over the bar on 70 minutes. A yellow card was shown to Clarke for kicking the ball away at a free-kick on 73 minutes. Tuck smashed another low effort wide of the left post on 74 minutes from the edge of the box.
Burgess had another long-distance chance on 80 minutes which he drilled along the deck but it went wide as Bognor searched in vain for a way back.
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Hide AdLewis Rustell did well to latch on to a loose ball at the back to shoot from outside the box, forcing a save from Hall. Then Hall flapped at a cross from the left.


But Bognor failed to trouble Magee in the Chichester goal again and the Oaklands Park team took all the points to go seventh in the table.
Bognor are rock bottom and ten points from safety – they on the road next as they travel to Dulwich Hamlet on Saturday – when Chi host high-flying Chatham.
Rocks: Hall, Whyte, Jarvis, Davies (c), Spurway, Field, Block (Tuck 62), Burgess (Woolston 87), Starkey, Gifford (Higgs 70), Mather (Beale 70). Sub not used: Richardson.
Chi City: Magee, Davidson, Hutchings, Dunn, Da Costa, Pashley, Rowlatt, Clarke, Wild, Bello, Prichard. Subs: Horncastle, Munt. Moore, Jammeh, Rustell.
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