That’s for you Gee! Chi claim remarkable play-off final win by Steve Bone
They keep saying Chichester City must have gone as far as they can. But Chichester City keep proving them wrong.
A team who were in midtable at the end of January and struggling to find their form on their new 3G pitch at Oaklands Park looked some way off being a side who could reach the Isthmian League Division 1 play-offs.
Then came a 13-match unbeaten run – including 11 wins and barely a goal conceded – which saw them finish fifth.
It was enough for a playoff spot but Ramsgate, who’d been challenging for the title all season, were their semi-final opponents – at Ramsgate too.
No problem. After an at-times bodies-on-theline defensive effort, Chi beat the Rams thanks to Mo Jammeh’s late goal, setting up last Friday’s final against Sussex rivals Three Bridges, who had completed a regular season double over City.
Most thought it would be close – and actually the first half was, with Bridges having the best of the chances after Chi had taken a first-minute lead through Josh Clack. And when Joe Clarke and Lloyd Rowlatt made it 3-0 before the break, City had one foot in the premier division.
Could they play sensibly in the second half and ensure victory? They could do more than that – they dominated and had a Connor Cody header and Clarke’s second to show for their superiority. Scarcely believable.
At the whistle, Chi’s fans – there in good numbers – and fans and staff celebrated on the pitch, taking time to pay their tributes to assistant manager Graeme Gee, who had passed away at the age of 51 just 22 days before this triumph that he’d helped orchestrate.
It was a touching end to another remarkable night in the story of a football club who in 2019 were still in the county leagues.
Now a new challenge awaits them, alongside Hawks and Bognor in the seventh tier, can wait just a while. Because for now, the important thing is that City toast their promotion and reflect on the hard graft of many people that has made it happen.
And as a number of them commented after it was confirmed, that one was for you Gee.