Miles Rutherford, Dabba, Danny Potter & Co made a couple of changes to the side that were beaten 2-1 by Welling United at Oaklands Park on Saturday as Rustell and Ethan Prichard started with Vigar and Joe Moore dropping to the bench alongside Theo Bennetts, Preston Woolston and Martin. Skipper Rob Hutchings and Ryan Davidson lined up either side of centre backs Curtis Da Costa and Ben Pashley and Kieran Magee between the sticks as usual. Emmett Dunn switched to No4 behind Joe Clarke, Lloyd Rowlatt, Isaac Bello and Prichard with Rustell leading the line.
The War Memorial Sports Ground basked in August Bank Holiday sun as referee Thomas Berry got things under way.
Chi won the corresponding fixture last season 2-1 after Hutchings had put the Lillywhites ahead on 42 minutes and Prichard netted the winner at the death.
Here, Pashley was fouled in the opening 60 seconds and the Chichester captain played his free-kick forward towards Rustell only for Robins’ keeper Matt Kerbey to intercept cleanly.
Bello had the first shot of the match on 2 following a slip from Josh Shonibare.
The Carshalton No17 then took a throw but one of his teammates got flagged offside before Bello won the game’s first corner five minutes in.
Rustell earned the visitors another off a deflection and a super exchange between David Smith and Sharon Ifeanyi led to an opportunity for skipper Tommy Bradford.
Next, Bradford posed further problems for the Sussex side although Hutchings cleared the danger and Magee was called into action to deny a long-ranger that he turned out for a corner.
And Bradford had a go but somehow the Londoners failed to find the back of the net.
A bit of trickery by Prichard resulted in a shot wide of the mark on 16 and Pashley hooked the ball away as the game swung this way and that.
Rowlatt and Rustell combined but couldn’t pick Prichard; the Robins frontline got adjudged offside once more; and Pashley, magnificent in the heart of the defence, cleared Ifeanyi’s delivery.
At the mid-point of the half Rustell caught keeper Kerbey who had to have some attention from the hosts’ physio, so the other players had a drinks-break.
Then Rowlatt got on the end of a Hutchings’ cross only to shoot just wide before Chi forced a corner which Hutchings took and Kerbey claimed easily enough.
Ifeanyi, who’d swapped wings, pulled a stop out of Magee and Prichard blasted one high and wide.
Next, Rowlatt was well-in and found Prichard to send Hutchings scampering down the left only to play in a poor delivery.
Ten minutes ahead of the break Abdullateef Salami beat Hutchings, However, the ball rolled out for a Chichester goal kick according to Mr Berry before Dylan Pepe picked up a yellow card, that would come back to haunt him, for a nasty foul on Bello.
Prichard took the consequent set-piece but a teammate strayed offside.
Ifeanyi then had a cross headed out by Da Costa for a Robins’ corner that was cleared by Hutchings and two chances went begging in time added on as Ansu Janneh miscued, and a cut back by Abdul Sankoh was pulled wide by Ifeanyi.
Neither team made any substitutions at the interval.
Smith was caught offside a minute into the second period before a lovely cross was converted by Rustell for his first of the season on 48 pretty much against the run of play.
Prichard then went on a jinking run only to get dispossessed and in the 51st minute Magee denied Salami with a fine save.
60 secs later Prichard hit one that was diverted for a Chi corner which the No11 sent in too long before Rowlatt saw his effort blocked and Davidson pulled the follow-up off target.
Pashley headed away a Sankoh ball in and Salami’s next delivery from the left flank was awry.
Magee collected safely as Shonibare threatened and Dunn got caught by Bradford on the hour before Prichard fired over the bar.
Hutchings was done by Shonibare whose shot was blocked as Chi sought to protect their slender advantage and Pepe, perhaps harshly, picked up a second yellow and a red card as a consequence of impeding Bello.
Hutchings’ dead ball was headed into the mix by Clarke and at the other end Pashley cleared Ifeanyi’s dangerous cross.
Laurence Ernest’s tackle on Rowlatt was too high before a couple of decent interventions by Clarke led to a forward pass towards Bello only for it to be shepherded out for a Robins goal kick.
On 74 minutes Prichard forced a neat stop out of Kerbey and then the visitors introduced Vigar for goal-scorer Rustell and the home side switched Bradford and Michael Dada.
Within three minutes Vigar had doubled Chichester’s lead with another lovely finish much like the one he scored at Hashtag.
A man to the good, and two goals up, the visitors pressed on and nice stuff from Hutchings led to a cross that was just behind Bello and Vigar.
Woolston came on for Rowlatt with eight to go and Davidson tried to find Vigar who was offside anyway.
Next, Bello won a corner which Prichard took and Kerbey claimed with both hands.
Prichard was subbed for Martin with a minute of normal time remaining and Carshalton replacement Sanchez Ming pulled a super save out of Magee.
Vigar’s great turn and hold up teed Martin up for Chi’s third of the afternoon as we headed into an uneventful six minutes of additional time.
So, it’s two away wins, two draws and one defeat five games in and City move up to ninth place in the Isthmian premier division.
Next up for Rutherford’s men is an FA Cup first qualifying round tie away at Havant & Waterlooville on the 30th of August (Kick Off 3:00pm).
Chichester – Magee, Davidson, Hutchings, Dunn, Da Costa, Pashley, Bello, Clarke, Rustell, Rowlatt, Prichard (Bennetts, Martin, Woolston, Vigar, Moore).
