Impressive Chichester City fightback at Ashford is no surprise to Dabba

Saturday’s 2-2 draw in Kent was one of their best results of the season – and, according to some observers, their finest performance too.

They were 2-0 down midway through the second half against a side who needed to win to keep up the chase of leaders Hastings United, but coach Darin 'Dabba' Killpartrick said he knew they’d get something from the match.

He was proved right, too, as Ethan Prichard pulled one back and then Emmett Dunn rescued a point with a 90th minute equaliser.

Phoenix shot down in flames by Chi City.

It leaves City 11th and still with hope of finishing as high as seventh.

They face a busy week now with a home clash with Corinthian on Saturday followed by a visit to Whitstable on Tuesday.

Killpartrick said the draw at Ashford, which followed victories over Sevenoaks and Phoenix, was pleasing. “It showed the character of the team.

“We were 2-0 down but I was thinking at that stage ‘we’ll be okay here’.

“In the first half we were okay but our second half performance was the best I’ve seen in the three years I’ve been here.

Season is one of progress for City.

The 3G pitch suited us and you could see the players were enjoying the way we were playing.

“A draw was the least we deserved. We could have won it with that second half display.”

Killpartrick said City were still a work in progress and would benefit from being able to have a more settled starting XI than they’d had for much of this campaign. But he said the trip to Ashford was a clear sign of progress.

City have dual-signed a number of players for the hectic run-in which, as well as six league games in the final month, also includes an RUR Cup tie with FA Vase semi-finalists Littlehampton Town.

Killpartrick said: “It will be a difficult end to the season. Every game will be a test because as I’ve said before, there’s no team at this level you can just expect to beat. We want to have a positive end to the season.”