Parkway punished after promising start at Chichester
Chichester City vs Parkway | Match ReportPlymouth Parkway’s seven-match unbeaten league run came to an end at Oaklands Park as Chichester City scored twice in the second half to turn the game around and secure a 3-1 victory.
Rocky Neal’s tenth goal of the season had given Parkway the lead midway through the first half, but Ryan Davidson equalised shortly before the interval. The hosts then struck twice after the break through substitute Brandon Chebby and Harry Bridle to leave Karl Curtis’s side with a long journey home and a quick turnaround before Tuesday’s meeting with Wimborne Town.
 Chichester CityPlymouth Parkway 
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Having arrived in West Sussex looking to reclaim top spot in the Southern League Premier South, Parkway began with purpose and looked to exploit the opportunities created by their pressing game. The opening stages were evenly contested, with possession changing hands as both sides tried to establish control.
Aaron Dearing was called into action early on, producing an excellent diving save to his right to deny Lucas Pattenden after Chichester broke through the middle. Parkway responded at the other end, with Callum Hall seeing a low effort blocked by home goalkeeper Max Evans.
The game continued to swing between the two sides. Parkway threatened from set pieces, while Chichester looked to build from the back and use the pace of their forward movement to test the visitors’ defensive shape.
Pattenden was forced off with an injury during the first half, but the change did little to disrupt the hosts. Parkway, meanwhile, continued to find opportunities through their high press, forcing mistakes and winning possession in promising areas.
Rocky Neal was denied by Evans after a foul gave Parkway a dangerous free kick just outside the penalty area. The resulting corner came to nothing, but the pressure was beginning to tell.
The breakthrough arrived in the 36th minute. Parkway found the opening they had been searching for, with Neal finishing to register his tenth goal of the campaign and put the visitors in front.
With the lead secured, Parkway looked capable of adding to it. Neal threatened again as the visitors pushed forward, while their pressing game continued to create opportunities to turn Chichester’s possession into attacking situations.
However, the final pass and decision in the attacking third prevented Parkway from making the most of their promising spells. Those missed opportunities would prove significant.
Chichester found their equaliser in the 43rd minute through Ryan Davidson, bringing the scores level just before the interval. After a competitive first half in which Parkway had enjoyed periods of real promise, the sides went in at 1-1.
Curtis’s side began the second half looking to regain the initiative. An early throw-in from Jensen Ireland helped spark an attacking move, with Neal sending an effort over the crossbar before another forward pass was caught offside.
The contrasting approaches were becoming increasingly apparent. Chichester were happy to work the ball patiently from the back, while Parkway looked to turn defensive situations into attacking opportunities, often using Dearing or Toby Down to launch the ball forward.
For a period, the game remained finely balanced. Chichester threatened from a cross that flashed across the face of goal, before a corner caused further problems in the Parkway penalty area. Ireland was important in the defensive response, intervening to prevent another opening as the hosts searched for a way through.
The decisive moment came in the 58th minute. After a sequence of throw-ins, Chichester substitute Chebby found the net to put the hosts ahead and leave Parkway chasing the game.
The response was immediate in intent, if not in outcome. Parkway pushed forward and won a succession of corners as they searched for an equaliser, but struggled to turn that pressure into a clear finish. Reece Thomson was unable to make the most of one opportunity, while Rio Garside later tested Evans, who kept his effort out.
Chichester remained dangerous on the break, and the task facing Parkway became considerably harder in the 70th minute when Harry Bridle extended the home side’s lead to 3-1.
Two goals behind, Parkway continued to look for a route back into the contest. Ireland delivered a free kick towards Thomson, but the move was halted by an offside decision. With time running down, Curtis introduced Jack Matthews and Hayden Turner as Parkway tried to change the picture of the game and find a late response.
An injury stoppage involving Chichester’s Ollie Bellow further interrupted the closing stages, and six minutes of added time were announced. Parkway continued to push forward, but the hosts held firm to see out the remaining minutes and take all three points.
For Parkway, the result brought an end to a league run that had yielded six wins and a draw from the previous seven matches. It was a disappointing afternoon, particularly after taking the lead, but Curtis was keen to keep the defeat in perspective while acknowledging the areas that had cost his side.
“We’ve found ourselves in a great position at 1-0 up,” the Parkway manager reflected. “It’s just the manner in which we conceded a couple of goals today that’s really disappointing.”
Curtis felt Parkway had created enough opportunities in the first half to put the game in a very different position by the break, pointing to the quality of the pressing and the number of times his side regained possession in advanced areas.
“We had so much success in terms of our regains,” he explained. “We created so many chances. I think their keeper made a couple of good saves, and we had bad decision-making in the final pass.”
The equaliser just before half-time was particularly frustrating. Parkway had the opportunity to manage the closing stages of the half more effectively, but instead went into the interval level when they might have established a more commanding advantage.
“On another day, we come in a couple of goals up at half-time, and it’s a smooth second half,” Curtis said. “But that’s football.”
The manager was also quick to credit Chichester for the way they approached the contest, mixing their play between shorter build-up and longer passes. He did not believe the game was necessarily as chaotic as it appeared at times, but recognised that Parkway had not made their good spells count.
There was no attempt to disguise the disappointment, but equally no desire to allow one result to overshadow the progress made across the opening months of the campaign.
“This team is a very good team,” Curtis said. “When you win six and draw one of your last seven in the league, you’re a good team. And that’s what we are.”
Parkway’s performances have put them in a strong position in the league and helped carry the club into the latter stages of the FA Cup qualifying rounds. Curtis believes that achievement belongs to the players, while accepting that setbacks are an inevitable part of a season.
“They’ve been magnificent,” he added. “They’re the ones that have put the club in the position that we’re in.”
The challenge now is to respond. Parkway have little time to dwell on the defeat, with Wimborne Town visiting Bolitho Park on Tuesday. Curtis wants his players to return to the performances that brought their recent run of results, rather than assume that a quick return to action will automatically bring a change in fortunes.
“Whenever you lose any game, you want to get back on the grass again and try to put it right,” he said. “But we’ve got to turn up Tuesday. It’s not just going to happen because we put the boots on and play. We’ve got to be back at it again.”
Curtis also believes opponents are beginning to raise their level when facing Parkway, something the squad must learn to embrace as their standing in the division grows.
“They’re respecting us a little bit more now, and I think they’re raising their game,” he said. “We have to embrace that.”
The defeat at Chichester was a reminder that Parkway’s progress will not be without its setbacks. The response on Tuesday offers the first opportunity to demonstrate that the standards established during their unbeaten run remain firmly in place.
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