The Rebels opened the scoring nearly straight away courtesy of Aaron Mott. The teenager met a half-volley on the edge of the six-yard box following a poorly cleared corner by Chichester.

Chi struggled to break down their West Sussex rivals in the opening minutes, with strong pressure halting them from getting near Archie Short’s net.

The visitors warmed into the game as the minutes went by, with most of their chances coming down the left-hand side through Linus Jordan, who provided a huge threat throughout the first half.

In the 20th minute, some brilliant blocks from Reggie Lee and Benji Schmidt denied a huge opportunity for Chichester to equalise.

Not long after, the Rebels had a succession of dangerous corners, with Aaron Mott most noticeably being a huge aerial presence meeting the majority of the crosses in the air.

However, some heroics from opposition goalkeeper Archie Powis denied Fin Smith from doubling the lead, before the hosts came agonisingly close to breaching Powis’ net, but Chichester survived the barrage.

They then got their equaliser on the half hour mark as the ball was played from the right to Louis Lawrence, who converted a finish into the bottom left corner with a first-time strike.

The energy levels dropped towards the end of the first half, with both teams struggling to create clear-cut chances and the Rebels being happy with keeping possession.

The last chance of the half for our U18’s came just before the break, when Josh Harland made a darting run down the left and his cross was nearly deflected in for an own goal by Blake Griffin.

An early chance for Chichester in the second half was parried away by Archie Short following a low effort from outside the box from Jordan.

Ollie Vodden came into his own in the second half with numerous flashy touches, pinpoint passes and great hold up play, creating several chances for his teammates, with two particularly great chances for Liam Hill and Brean Plaku.

Hill then got the Rebels back into the lead in the 61st minute after a great strike was saved strongly by  Powis, only for the ball to fall directly under Hill’s feet. The full-back converted from close-range, forcing it through the goalkeeper’s gloves.

Only seven minutes later the hosts extended their lead by two goals when Brean Plaku chased down and put pressure on Powis’ clearance. Our number 10  blocked the ball, and it fell kindly to him to tap into an open net.

It didn’t stop there for the Rebels as they made it four, when an accurate free-kick was glanced at goal by Chiemeka Gurr-Enyi. The effort was saved by the Chichester shot-stopper,  with the rebound falling to Cooper Renzulli, who tapped it in through the goalkeeper’s legs.

The visitors then got a consolation goal in the closing stages, when the ball was played out to the edge of the box for Chichester’s captain Freddie Sarson whose powerful strike left Short stunned on the line.

Chichester then thought they scored again in the second minute of extra-time, but the lineman’s flag went up for offside.

Stoppage-time was navigated astutely by the young side to claim all three points at Woodside Road.

The Reds will be looking to make it consecutive wins at home when they host Hastings United on Tuesday.

Match Report by Marcel Adamkiewicz