On a bitter night that one fan described as “colder than a penguin’s chuff” the visitors, who made the 140-odd mile round-trip, started in white-hot fashion taking the lead as Moynes reacted calmly to a bit of pinball in the box, after Jack Bates delivered an eighth minute corner, and lashed it past stand-in Chi keeper Ahmed Mohamed and a cluster of players.
Mohamed wasn’t the only change to the starting XI that lined up in that 2-1 league loss to Ashford United at the weekend. Isaac Bello came in for regular right back Ryan Davidson; Kyle O’Brien started in place of Rob Hutchings on the other side; Owen Spicer replaced Jamie Horncastle; and Miles Rutherford & Co opted for Lee Seok-jae rather than Emmett Dunn.
Joe Clarke was well-in to instigate the first attack of the game after just sixty seconds. Josh Clack and Prichard then hooked up and Conrad Honore had a shot blocked.
The U’s Freddie Legg’s touch was too heavy as he sought to take on O’Brien down the right flank before Joe Moore in centre-mid cut out Tommy Penfold’s pass and Prichard drew a foul following some silky skill.
Next, Legg won a corner off O’Brien which Bates delivered and in the ensuing melee Moynes broke the deadlock.
Chichester looked to respond and a nice pass by Clarke to an advanced O’Brien led to a delivery that was intercepted.
Prichard then fired a fierce effort narrowly over the bar.
The Step 3 side doubled their lead though from another set-piece after Mohamed came off his line to reach a through ball and conceded a corner. Bates took this once again and Moynes got the final touch with a bullet header this time.
Chichester lost 2-0 away, as a nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions came to the end at Hastings in 2021-22, the year the East Sussex team won the title by a country mile with one goal coming from a corner and the other the consequence of a long throw.
John Ufuah drove into the Chi box on 14 minutes but great defending snuffed out the danger before Davide Rodari, who’s been at Crawley, Worthing, Dorking and Dartford, and scored a brace in a 5-1 victory over Chi in 2019-20 and famously eight goals in a 12-3 defeat of East Grinstead the same season, saw his attempt blocked here.
Spicer, O’Brien and Prichard combined on 15 without any end product; Lee had a cross blocked; and Prichard’s subsequent delivery was headed away.
Bello’s run opened up the middle of the park only for Chi to rebuild, and Lee was knocked off the ball as the U’s countered.
O’Brien made a timely tackle on Legg and Clarke headed Ollie Black’s long throw-in, a consistent Hastings’ tactic, out for a corner.
Bates delivered again but Curtis Da Costa cleared and Mohamed claimed Bates’ follow-up effort.
Lee then had a snap-shot blocked with what looked like an arm – no penalty according to the referee.
Prichard and Sam Gale got a talking to for a bit of handbags at the mid-point and the Chi No11 pulled one off target a few minutes later.
Joe Clarke received the game’s first yellow on the half hour mark for a rash challenge on Jamal Lubanga.
Then Mohamed wiped out Legg on 31 – with the ref awarding a corner rather than a pen.
The visitors missed two free-headers from this, the second one from Rodari cleared on the line.
Free-kicks were exchanged as the match lulled somewhat; Clarke headed another corner kick clear; Sam Okoye joined Clarke in the notepad for a cynical foul on Prichard; and Hastings got away with one when Prichard was scythed down once more.
Spicer defended imperiously to deny Rodari and neat play by Clack teed up Prichard although he couldn’t get a shot off.
Next, Honore had an effort tipped over the frame of the goal for a corner which was taken by Lee only for Spicer’s header to be steered out for another one that didn’t clear the first man.
Mohamed was called into action as the clock ticked down tidying up on two occasions and Honore was denied by the woodwork with the last kick of the half.
Rob Hutchings, Emmett Dunn and Kieran Magee came on for Spicer, Bello and Mohamed respectively at the break as Chi rejigged.
Moynes, on a hattrick, had a shot deflected for a corner a minute into the restart and Magee gloved a Black delivery.
The hosts were forced to defend another long throw and an intelligent pass towards Prichard saw Lubanga intervene and shrug the Chichester player off the ball.
And then a super ping from O’Brien resulted in a desperate lunge in the penalty box and the ref had no hesitation this time in pointing to the spot and Prichard duly converted to put Chi back in it.
Buoyed by this the home side pressed again as Lee and Prichard linked nicely only for the ball to get caught under the latter’s feet.
Clack then twisted and turned but shot wide on the hour and Prichard’s next attempt lacked both power and direction.
Dunn and Lee worked the ball to Clarke who didn’t get a decent connection on his first-time effort.
Honore’s shot moments later sailed high over the crossbar before he was replaced by Chichester and Bognor legend Jimmy Wild.
Dunn did brilliantly up against Ufuah after a clever Moynes pass and then shepherded the ball back to Magee with Ufuah pressing.
Magee hit a wayward clearance which Moore had to steer out for a corner under pressure.
Okoye at the other end hooked one away and Clarke’s neat backheel didn’t quite come off.
Next, Clack had a go and whilst it wasn’t a clean strike it did seem like it nicked off a defender.
Clack made a well-timed tackle on Moynes; O’Brien played the ball into a good area only for Hastings to clear; and Okoye’s foul on Da Costa might have been a second yellow on another day.
Then Lee hit a shot off target before Dunn was turned inside out but Magee pulled off a fine save with four minutes to go. He flapped at the resulting corner though, and O’Brien was clipped by Lubanga who got booked.
How a penalty wasn’t awarded for the crude challenge on Wild in the 88th minute is anyone’s guess but O’Brien won a corner which Lee delivered and Hastings cleared thanks to Rodari’s powerful header.
Wild did win a free-kick in stoppage time that Rob Hutchings took but the U’s smuggled the loose ball away.
And then just before the final whistle Moore found O’Brien who couldn’t keep his shot down.
So, Chi bow out of their last cup competition. There is no game at the weekend because scheduled opponents league-leaders Ramsgate are away at AFC Wimbledon in the second round of the Emirates FA Cup. Chichester welcome Herne Bay next to the MKM Arena on Sunday 10th December (Kick Off 3pm).
Chichester – Mohamed, Bello, O’Brien, Moore, Da Costa, Spicer, Lee, Clarke, Clack, Honore, Prichard. Subs – (Wild, Hutchings, Dunn, Haitham, Magee).
