Woeful Mullets hit by late Chi fight back

On a cold night and bobbly pitch, the game started pretty well for the hosts as Scott Tipper’s flick from a long ball found Rory Biggs bursting through to loop a shot from 25 yards past a flat-footed Dan Roberts in the visiting goal after just eight minutes.

Arundel remained on the front foot for much of the rest of the first period but struggled to manufacture any clear-cut chances, the closest being a couple of overhead kicks from Grant Thetford and Tipper, which barely threatened.

Chichester did manage a couple of efforts on James Fernandes’ goal, but the Mullets’ stopper was easily equal to them.

The second half began with Chichester very much in the ascendancy as Dan Watts hit the bar with a free header from six yards just three minutes after the restart.

The hosts were rightly a little aggrieved a minute later when the referee blew up for a foul on Lewis Jenkins when Tipper was clean through on goal, but a second did come Arundel’s way as Jenkins was allowed to chest the ball down from a long clearance then chip Roberts after 57 minutes.

The game turned with seven minutes remaining as Mullets failed to clear a corner and Pau Cassasa Busquets blasted home from 20 yards to generate panic in the home defence.

Nathan Da Costa then tripped substitute Tom Green in the penalty area, allowing former Reading triallist Ken Hagan to send Fernandes the wrong way and level the scores on 84 minutes.

Chichester sealed the win in the last minute as Arundel failed to meaningfully challenge Tom Smith and he prodded the ball to Hagan, who fired home past the helpless Fernandes.

Torode said: “I thought that was our worst performance of the season tonight and we were lucky to be 2-0 up, in all honesty. I expect my teams to give 100 per cent and I didn’t think I got that tonight.”