Chichester City Women restarted their league campaign for the first since December on Sunday when they played a double header at Roffey FC Women. Two 60 minute games, and 6 points as the prize were up for grabs to aid the teams bid for promotion.

Results: 

Game 1: Roffey Women 0, Chichester City Women 0

Game 2: Chichester City Women 3, Roffey Women 0 (Elinor Williams 2, Mia Gardner)

Reaction from the team on the match.

Manager, Connor Slade

“As we expected it was a tough game and credit to Roffey they worked tirelessly throughout to prevent us from scoring in the first 60 minute game. A double header is always really tough to come away with 6 points and although we gave it our all in the first 60 minutes we were unable to convert the chances. With Simmo springing into action at a moments notice, the game was a stale mate at 0-0.

In the 2nd 60 minute game we picked ourselves up and scored the opener in the first 15 minutes through Elinor. The game then seemed completely controlled by our side which was a positive towards the end of a 120 minute match.

Credit to Roffey and they’re young set up, who showed real grit throughout.”

Assistant Manager, Joe Connell

“We knew going away to Roffey was going to offer certain challenges for the girls. Being our first ever double header on a very hot day.
We gave a clear message to girls at the start of the 1st game which was to retain possession & conserve energy. We had the majority of the ball but ultimately struggled to break Roffey down.

We settled into the 2nd game much better after an early goal from El. Again, we had lots of good possession & showed great energy levels throughout the 120 mins.

4 points out of 6 away to Roffey is a good result, but we were still disappointed to not come away with all 6. There was a lack of quality on the final ball in the 1st game which wasn’t helped by the downhill slope in the 1st half. Great to see Bert & Jas back with the squad, both add a lot of quality & experience which we all value massively.”

Centre back, Payton Howard

“The first game was frustrating. We had a lot of possession with nice passages of play, however poor decision making in the final third really let us down. We went into the second game with a positive mindset and this was reflected in the score. It was very disappointing not to walk away with 6 points, but we will learn from this and look forward to our next game.”

Left back, Lisbeth Mottashed

“I was very excited for the double header, the girls felt nervous at the beginning of the first game, but played brilliantly in the second half of the first game. We maintained possession, some really good football, but just couldn’t find the finishing goal. Payton going up top towards the end caused some danger to their defence. Undeserving to finish the first game 0-0.

After a 30 minute break the girls felt more relaxed for the second game and really took control. Some excellent saves by Simmo in goal, my man of the match. Gutted not to have come away with 6 points, but all the girls enjoyed it, was great to have Bert and Jas back for the games, clean sheets too, played well defensively. Buzzing for Hastings double header in a couple weeks time, the girls need to work hard for this to come away with the 6 points.”

Forward, Elinor Williams

“It was a challenging game and at times it was unsure if we were going to score any goals but we continued to take chances and work together as a team, so eventually the goals came in! The work rate from everyone was incredible as well.”

Centre back, Eloise Williams

“I feel slightly disheartened that as a team we weren’t able to take all 6 points away from the games.
Under tough conditions both teams battled in the 1st game and I feel we were unlucky not to nick a goal. Credit to Roffey, they defended well and utilised the fact the first game was over by 60 mins. Something, the girls and myself included struggled to adapt too. I genuinely feel we had our best spell in the last 15 mins of the first game and if we had the full 90 minutes we would have secured all 3 points.

The 2nd game saw a much more comfortable win for us. The girls as a collective were much more settled and when the first goal came, it was a sigh of relief for all. It was also lovely to welcome back Bert and Jas, two players who have the capability to positively impact games.

All in all, looking at the positives. Two clean sheets and 4 points away from home is a satisfying achievement.”

Captain, Gaby Hobday

“Yesterday’s games were tough. Playing two games back-to-back really tested us mentally and physically but I think we really proved in the second game that we deserve to be challenging for the top spot! We continued to play nice football and to retain the ball well we just have to be more clinical when taking chances. Playing 120 minutes so soon after lockdown was a big challenge but all the girls were brilliant and gave incredible level of effort to get the results.

I’m proud of the reaction from the first game to go out and get the win in the second game showed great mentality and strength to leave the first result behind us. We will look to build on yesterdays performances as we go into the Hastings game full of confidence in a couple of weeks.”