Chelmsford returned to winning ways on Sunday when they twice came from behind to eventually beat their hosts, East Grinstead.

With neither side challenging for promotion and both safe from relegation worries, the atmosphere at East Grinstead on Sunday was understandably low key.

In a disappointing first half in which both sides made plenty of mistakes it was probably the home side that came out on top.

In the seventh minute, a lapse in concentration in the Chelmsford defence allowed Mahmood Bhatti to run across the face of goal.

The former England player saw his first shot saved by Chelmsford goalkeeper Dan Tilley but made no mistake with the rebound.

Chelmsford forced a number of penalty corners without really threatening the East Grinstead goal until the 27th minute when Simon Gittins sent a flick high into the net to level the scores at the interval.

In the second half, East Grinstead wasted no time in regaining the lead when Dominic Male showed that he too is dangerous from set pieces when he hoisted the ball above Tilley to make the score 2-1.

The game came to life in the last 15 minutes when Gittins slotted home his second goal from a penalty corner and both sides realised that now was the time to search for the winning goal.

Fortunately, for Chelmsford, it arrived just three minutes later when Gittins' strong run into the East Grinstead 'D' resulted in a firm shot that goalkeeper Andy Spight did well to save.

However, there was nothing he could do to keep out Chris Wilson's first time effort from the rebound that shot into the far corner of the goal.

Although the home side poured players forward they could not find a way through a Chelmsford defence in which Rob MacKay was outstanding throughout and Chelmsford greeted the final whistle with some relief.

After the match Chelmsford manager David Kitchiner was keen to point out how important the result was when he said, "After four weeks without a win it was important for us to get back on the winning track.

"It wasn't a great match to watch but we've put in a lot of hard work this season and we're all keen to finish in the top four."

The result keeps Chelmsford in fourth place with just one match remaining which is this Sunday when they host Stourport in a game that starts at 2pm at Chelmer Park.

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