Chi are determined to have a serious stab at promotion
Chichester Hockey Club’s men’s first team finished their pre-season preparations with a weekend away and two tough fixtures against Brighton and Oxted.
They will start their league campaign this Sunday away to league debutants Bedford, and will have taken heart from the performances in the past few weeks.
Pre-season has seen some changes to the team’s staff, with Chichester stalwart Neil Pendle stepping into the manager’s position and Kat Skilton becoming team physio.
New players Jack Knight and Joe Nelmes have joined, Richard Blakesley has rejoined and crowd favourite Connor Mclaughlan has rejoined training, while Oscar Pacey, Callum Peyman and Jasper Marshal are making the transition from junior hockey into the adult performance ranks.
However, it will be mostly familiar faces who will represent the team when they push back at Bedford on Sunday, and much of preseason has been organised around the need to change the culture and ambitions in the performance section of the club.
The team want to be candidates for promotion this season, and performances against Teddington (4-3 win);
Brighton (3-2 win) and Oxted (4-3 loss), all of whom play in the higher South Conference, has been encouraging.
Alex Pendle, fresh from selection for the England development programme at U23 level, is in devastating goalscoring form having scored six during preseason.
Chris Bristow has returned fresh from the summer break and is proving he is among the best goalkeepers in the country; and Alex Baxter,
Alex Messenger, Alex Holton and Cameron Ryall have looked like they will play considerable roles in the team’s ambitions.
Chichester Ladies II 2 Brighton and Hove V 0 Sussex Ladies Div 1
This was the first game of the new season for Chichester Ladies’ twos and they had a different line-up from the one that ended the 2018-19 season.
Neither side started with much structure to their play but Chi had the majority of possession throughout the first half, though were undone by wayward passing.
They scored early through Sarah Jessop, who has been a leading goalscorer for many seasons.
She showed real quality in scoring Chichester’s first goal.
Passing was not the greatest from both sides but Chi’s ball control shone.
Their second goal came from Alex Hurd, who entered the D and fired one past the Brighton keeper.
In the second half Chi got to grips with the match and kept Brighton at bay.
Chichester should have had more goals but they were delighted to have won the game. Chichester: Char O’callaghan, Tracy Austin, Jackie Baxter, Sarah Jessop, Kate Woods, Vicky Oliver Catt, Kath Mundy, Emily Bradford, Tilly Pennington, Elise Bennison,lindsay Hauxwell, Alex Hurd.