Match reports from October 2020

Saturday 31 October
Gloucester City 2 Chester 1
National League North
Attendance: 0 Half Time: 0-0
Booked: Glendon, Hughes.

Gloucester City: Moulden, Carline, Whittle, Gunning, Daly, Morgan, Dawson, Thomas (Robert 58), Asante, McClure (O’Sullivan 62), Mensah (James 75). Subs not used: Lovett, Bailey-Nichols.
Chester: Gray, Morgan, Taylor, Weeks, K.Roberts, Grand, Johnston (Bauress 81), Glendon, Elliott (Dudley 81), Waring (Hughes 81), Jackson. Subs not used: G.Roberts, Marsh-Hughes.
Referee: Michael Barlow.

Former Chester favourite Akwasi Asante scored late on as Chester lost 2-1 at league leaders Gloucester City.

The Blues were without injured defender Danny Livesey, Jamie Morgan coming into the starting X1. The Tigers had the early possession with both Asante and fellow striker Matt McClure testing Louis Gray early on. Chester were defending well and counter-attacked on 20 minutes as Danny Elliott saw a shot saved by Louie Moulden in the home goal.

As the half wore on both sides carved out good chances. John Johnston saw a volley from the edge of the box go just wide. At the other end Ben Morgan headed George Carline’s cross straight to Gray.

The deadlock was finally broken on 58 minutes as a Gavin Gunning free-kick from by the left corner flag found Liam Daly who rose at the back post to head home giving Gray no chance.

Chester slowly came back into the game and there were appeals for a handball as the ball from an Elliott shot hit Ben Morgan but referee Michael Barlow was having none of it.

With nine minutes remaining Chester made a triple substitution that paid off five minutes later as they drew level. Bradley Jackson darted down the left and crossed for Simon Grand to head the ball down to Anthony Dudley, he turned a couple of players before firing low past Moulden.

Having fought their way back into the game the Blues suffered heartbreak two minutes from time as Moulden’s long clearance took a flick off a defender to leave Asante clean through on goal and he fired home past the untrusting Gray to grab all three points for the Tigers.

Picture © Rick Matthews

• More photos | League Table | View the goals (YouTube)

Tuesday 27 October
Chester 2 Curzon Ashton 1
National League North
Attendance: 0 Half Time: 1-0
Booked: Taylor, Jackson, Livesey, Gray.

Chester: Gray, K.Roberts, Taylor, Weeks, Livesey, Grand, Johnston (Bauress 90), Glendon, Elliott (Dudley 88), Waring (Hughes 73), Jackson. Subs not used: Morgan, G.Roberts.
Curzon Ashton: Mason, Southern, Waters, Turnbull, Tharme, Whitham, Curran (Oyibo 65), Harrop, Mahon, Stephenson, Knowles. Subs not used: Hughes, Poscha, Stokes.
Referee: Richard Holmes.

Chester made one change from the side beaten by Marine on Saturday with George Waring starting at the expense of Bradley Bauress who took a seat on the bench. The Nash included two former Chester players in Matty Waters and Craig mahon in their starting line-up.

The Blues started the game at a quick pace and there were early appeals for a penalty after Danny Elliott fell in the box following a quick build up involving Bradley Jackson. John Johnston forced an early corner that saw Joel Taylor's far post delivery was headed back into trouble by Danny Livesey to cause problems for the Nash defence that cleared two efforts off from Johnston and George Glendon off the line.

A great surging run from inside his own half by Taylor down the left saw the defender cross deep for the on-rushing Johnston but the Blues midfielder couldn’t keep his shot down as it sailed over high and wide at the far post.

Simon Grand stepped in disposes Stephenson and prevent a Curzon attack on the edge of the area and in a quick break away Elliott set Johnston away down the right, he cut in before seeing a cross shot just go inches wide at the far post.

On 37 minutes Chester got the breakthrough their early pressure had deserved as the ball broke for Elliott and Waring, both free on goal, and it was Elliott who fired home left-footed off the inside of the right post.

Bradley Jackson saw a shot from range drift wide through Cameron Mason in the Curzon goal seemed to have it covered.

Chester continued to press for a second after the break. Johnston saw an effort go into the side netting after fine build up play from the impressive Glendon. Jackson then cut in from the right and saw a shot deflected and loop up over Mason who recovered to save well, the ball found its way back into Waring who turned and saw his effort cleared off the line by the Curzon rearguard.

Curzon, who had shown little threat up front, drew level against the run of play on 67 minutes as Waters found himself in space down the left and crossed for Dominic Knowles who with his back to goal controlled the ball, turned Livesey, and shot past Louis Gray from six yards out.

A fine run and cross from the left by Elliott saw substitute Matty Hughes, on for Waring, turn and shoot against the post before the ball was cleared for a corner.

With seven minutes remaining Chester scored what proved to be the winning goal. Declan Weeks played the ball out to Johnston on the left, he brought it inside and slipped a pass to skipper Glendon on the edge of the penalty area and he unleashed an unstoppable shot past Mason into the bottom right hand corner.

Picture © Rick Matthews

• More photos | League Table | Match Highlights (YouTube)

Saturday 24 October
Chester 0 Marine 1
FA Cup Fourth Qualifying Round
Attendance: 0 Half Time: 0-0
Booked: Grand.

Chester: Gray, K.Roberts, Taylor, Weeks, Livesey, Grand, Johnston (Waring 64), Glendon, Elliott (Marsh-Hughes 79), Bauress, Jackson (Dudley 78). Subs not used: Morgan, G.Roberts, Hughes, Clark.
Marine: Passant, Solomon-Davies, Joyce, Doyle, Miley, Daven, Howard (Strickland 89), Hmami (Devine 83), Kengni, Touray (Cummins 90), Barrigan. Subs not used: Hughes, Mendes, Wignall.
Referee: Ed Duckworth.

This was a disappointing display from Chester who were beaten 1-0 at home by Northern Premier League Division One North West side Marine, managed by former Blues boss Neil Young.

Chances were few and far between early on. Bradley Jackson shot wide, and later in the opening half Danny Elliott headed wide from a Joel Taylor cross as Chester had very little to show up front. The Mariners defended well without creating too much themselves though Mo Touray should have done better from 25 yards, shooting wide when he had players in support.

Elliott forced a smart save from Bayleigh Passant in the visitors’ goal as Chester looked to gain control in the second half. John Johnston saw a shot saved before being replaced by George Waring. Fellow strikers Lloyd Marsh-Hughes and Anthony Dudley were also introduced, for Elliott and Jackson, as time for a breakthrough began to run out.

With nine minutes remaining Marine were awarded a penalty after a handball in the penalty box by Danny Livesey. James Barrigan duly dispatched the spot-kick down the middle, giving Louis Gray no chance.

The Blues thought they’d equalised as Livesey headed home Taylor’s free-kick only for the effort to be ruled out for offside. As the game entered time added-on Waring headed over from a Livesey cross and the same striker found the side netting with an effort from six yards out.

Picture © Rick Matthews

• More photos | Match Highlights (YouTube)

Saturday 17 October
Spennymoor Town 2 Chester 1
National League North
Attendance: 0 Half Time: 1-1
Booked: Johnston.

Spennymoor Town: Eve, McLean, Curtis, Buddle, Blakeman, Spencer, Anderson (Moke 85), McKenna, Ramshaw, Thompson (Kennedy 75), Taylor. Subs not used: Norton, Tait, Mitchell.
Chester: Gray, K.Roberts, Morgan, Weeks, Livesey, Grand, Johnston, Glendon, Elliott (Hughes 78), Dudley (Jackson 67), Bauress (Waring 78). Subs not used: Taylor, G.Roberts.
Referee: Aaron Bannister.

Chester suffered their first defeat of the season as they were beaten by a last minute goal at the Brewery Field.

The Blues made a couple of changes from the side that beat the Moors in the FA Cup during the week. In came Kevin Roberts and Bradley Jackson for Bradley Bauress and Joel Taylor both of whom started on the bench.

Louis Gray was called into early action saving from Mark Anderson before Chester took a 12th minute lead. John Johnston’s far post corner was headed down by Simon Grand for Danny Livesey to slide the ball home from close range past goalkeeper Dale Eve and and a defender on the line.

Spennymoor went close twice through Scott McLean and Jamie Spencer before drawing level just after the half hour mark as Glen Taylor's free kick found a way through the Blues defensive wall and past Gray into the bottom left corner of the net.

With the first half a fairly even affair, it was Chester who had the better of the opportunities after the break. Johnston was sent through one-on-one but saw his effort well saved by Eve.

Eve was on hand again to save a low driving effort from Kevin Roberts, moments later Jamie Morgan shot over the bar from Johnston’s cross. Two more chances fell to Johnston, the first saved by the ‘keeper and the second put over the crossbar.

Chester were to rue those missed chances when Spennymoor grabbed the winning goal in the final stages as Scott McLean’s corner caused a melee in the penalty box and the ball was bundled home, apparently off a Chester player, for an own goal.

Tuesday 13 October
Chester 3 Spennymoor Town 1
FA Cup Third Qualifying Round
Attendance: 0 Half Time: 1-1
Booked: Dudley, Grand, Weeks.

Chester: Gray, Morgan, Taylor, Weeks, Livesey, Grand, Johnston, Glendon, Elliott (Waring 78), Dudley (G.Roberts 78), Jackson (Bauress 46). Subs not used: K.Roberts, Hughes, Marsh-Hughes, Clark.
Spennymoor Town: Eve, Magna, Boon, Curtis, McLean, Kennedy (Anderson 62), Moke, Hall, Ramshaw, McKenna, Taylor. Subs not used: Norton, Tait, Spencer, Blakeman, Buddle.
Referee: Matt Corlett.

Chester made three changes from the side that beat Leamington on Saturday. In to the starting X1 came Bradley Jackson, Jamie Morgan and Anthony Dudley. Dropping down to the bench were Kevin Roberts, George Waring and Bradley Bauress.

It was the visitors who started quickest and took an early sixth minute lead, a fine through ball send Rob Ramshaw away down the left and his low cross was slid in at the far post by Ryan Hall.

Chester responded with a John Johnston free kick over the bar, before Jordan Boon cleared a Danny Elliott off the line after the Blues striker had flicked the ball past Dale Eve in the Moors goal, moments later though Chester were level.

Jackson sent in a cross shot to the far post that Eve could only parry low down and the ball fell to the onrushing Morgan who had the simplest of tasks to steer the ball home from six yards out.

Moors responded with the dangerous Glen Taylor shooting just wide from distance. At the other end Declan Weeks and Elliott both saw efforts go close before the sides trooped off level at the break.

Ten minutes after the restart Chester were awarded a penalty. A defence splitting pass from Bauress sent Elliott through down the left before the onrushing Eve was adjudged to have brought down the striker in the box. Elliott stepped up to send Eve the wrong way with his spot-kick.

Elliott saw a shot defected for a corner as Chester looked for a third goal to seal the tie. Taylor was a constant threat up front for the visitors. They forced a series of corners during which Joel Taylor cleared one towering header off the line.

With ten minutes remaining Chester scored their third. Johnston did well to win a corner down the Chester right. Bauress swung in the kick which was met by substitute Waring who scored with his first touch at the near post to put the Blues in the hat for the next round.

Saturday 10 October
Chester 3 Leamington 2
National League North
Attendance: 0 Half Time: 2-1
Booked: K.Roberts, Bauress.

Chester: Gray, K.Roberts, Taylor, Weeks, Livesey, Grand, Johnston, Glendon, Elliott (G.Roberts 83), Waring (Marsh-Hughes 90), Bauress (Dudley 77). Subs not used: Morgan, Hughes.
Leamington: Weaver, English, Morley, Clarke, Morrison, Lane, Taylor (Anderson 82), Maye (Meredith 73), Waldron, Martin, Osborne (Smith 62). Subs not used: Allen, Knott.
Referee: Matthew Scholes.

Chester followed up the midweek win at Kidderminster with three more points as they overcame Leamington for the first time in five attempts.

The Blues made one change with forward George Waring coming in for Paddy Lacey who missed the game through illness. His suspension for last week’s red card starts on Tuesday.

It was the Brakes who opened the scoring on nine minutes as Sam Osborne’s left wing cross was smartly flicked home at the near post by Junior English who beat a defender and Louis Gray to the ball first.

Waring had the ball in the net minutes later but the assistant referee’s flag ruled the goal out for offside. Osborne wasted a great chance for the visitors to double their lead, shooting over from close range before Chester drew level on 24 minutes as Kevin Roberts’ right wing cross was headed home by Danny Elliott.

Ten minutes before the break Chester edged in front. This time it was Bradley Bauress who took advantage of another Roberts delivery to head home past Jake Weaver from some distance to score his first goal for the Blues.

Just before the hour mark a foul on Roberts by Steph Morley saw referee Matthew Scholes point to the penalty spot. Elliott stepped up and sent Weaver the wrong way with his spot-kick to score Chester’s third.

Leamington played the ball round well and looked to narrow the defecit, and with 12 minutes to go they did just that. Two substitutes combined as Dan Meredith latched onto Lance Smith’s through ball to advance round the out rushing Gray and slot the ball home to make it 3-2.

There were appeals for a penalty by the visitors late on in the game after Kaiman Anderson went down in the penalty area, but referee Scholes waved play-on.

Tuesday 6 October
Kidderminster Harriers 1 Chester 2
National League North
Attendance: 0 Half Time: 1-1
Booked: Waring, Weeks.
Sent-off: Lacey.

Kidderminster Harriers: Simpson, Penny, Richards, Lowe, Montrose, Austin (White 76), Morgan-Smith, Hemmings (Freemantle 68), Sterling, Taylor, Prosser. Subs not used: Palmer, Martin, Arthur.
Chester: Gray, K.Roberts, Taylor, Lacey, Livesey, Grand, Johnston (Waring 73), Glendon, Elliott (G.Roberts 80), Weeks, Bauress (Dudley 73). Subs not used: Morgan, Marsh-Hughes.
Referee: Greg Rollason.

Chester got their league season off to a winning start with a hard fought victory at Kidderminster Harriers. An eventful opening game of the campaign saw both sides finish the game with ten men.

The Blues had the better of the early exchanges which saw Danny Livesey head over the bar from close range following a fine Bradley Bauress cross, before Ashley Hemmings netted for the home side only to see his effort ruled out for offside.

Chester took the lead midway through the half as Joel Taylor’s ball in form the left was met by Danny Elliott whose smart finish beat Harriers ‘keeper Luke Simpson at the near post.

The lead only lasted six minutes as Omari Sterling’s left-wing cross found its way through to Hemmings who gave Louis Gray no chance to draw Harriers level.

Eight minutes before the break the home side were reduced to ten men as referee Greg Rollason sent-off Amari Morgan-Smith was what turned out to be foul and abusive language. The dismissal saw a heated exchange take place in the dugout area with Rollason brandishing more yellow cards.

John Johnston had a great chance to restore the lead for the Blues on the stroke of half time but saw his effort pushed wide.

Chester re-took the lead on 57 minutes through ex-Harrier Declan Weeks shooting powerfully home from a narrow angle. Parity was restored on 64 minutes as Paddy Laced was shown a straight red card for a heavy late tackle on Sterling.

Kidderminster applied plenty of pressure in the final ten minutes. Jaiden White had already fired over the bar from close range before the same played saw a shot hit the post, the ball cam out to Ethan Freemantle and his effort was cleared off the line by Livesey, the loose ball fell to Caleb Richards whose effort went just wide to the relief of the Blues defence.

Saturday 3 October
Worksop Town 2 Chester 2
(Chester win 5-3 on penalties)
FA Cup Second Qualifying Round
Attendance: 293 Half Time: 1-0
Booked: Gray, Waring, Bauress, K.Roberts, Lacey.

Worksop Town: Malkowski, Greenhough, Smythe, Broadhead, Radford (Williams), Jemson, Baxendale (Allott 65), Cromack (Brown), Hinsley, Redford, Dunn. Subs not used: Atherton, Sennett-Neilson.
Chester: Gray, K.Roberts, Taylor, Lacey (G.Roberts 86), Livesey, Grand, Weeks, Glendon, Elliott (Marsh-Hughes 72), Waring, Bauress (Dudley 64). Subs not used: Morgan, Clark, Hughes, Goodwin.
Referee: Gareth Myers.

The new season got off to a dramatic start as Chester fought back late on to progress to the Third Qualifying Round of the FA Cup at the expense of Worksop Town.

Playing on the artificial pitch at Sandy Lane, The Blues gave debuts to three players in Paddy Lacey, Declan Weeks and Bradley Bauress all signed a couple of days before the tie.

It was The Tigers who started the strongest and Louis Gray was called into action in just the second minute to make a tremendous save to deny Connor Smythe whose dipping volley was heading for an early goal.

The home side continued to press and were awarded a penalty on 20 minutes as a poor clearance from Gray was intercepted by James Baxendale he advanced, rounded the ‘keeper but was brought down. Referee Gareth Myers pointed to the spot, Vaughan Redford stepped up but his effort was saved by Gray pushing the spot-kick wide of the right hand post.

The home side took the lead just after the half-hour. Michael Dunn saw a fierce shot tipped away for a corner by Gray before Oscar Radford headed home the resulting flag-kick by Jack Greenhough at the far post.

Bauress forced a save from Sebastian Malkowski in the home goal as Chester looked to strike back, and the Blues almost grabbed an equaliser on the stroke of half-time as George Waring saw an effort cannon off the crossbar following a Bauress corner.

A large scale scuffle took place around the area of the dugouts on 53 minutes that involved players and management from both side. After it had eventually calmed down Myers sent-off both Blues manager Anthony Johnson and Worksop’s first team coach Craig Rouse.

Jack Broadhead doubled the lead for the home side as he collected the ball in the Chester half before advancing and letting fly from from distance, his shot going in off the post.

Chester made changes with Anthony Dudley, Gary Roberts and Lloyd Marsh-Hughes all coming on, at the expense of Bauress, Lacey and Danny Elliott.

With time running Chester pressed high and pulled a goal back on 85 minutes as Danny Livesey bundled the ball home from close range, following a far post knock-down header had troubled Malkowski, referee Myers adjudging the ball had crossed the line.

Seven minutes were added on for the touchline melee, and during that Livesey headed home a dramatic equaliser again at the far post giving Malkowski no chance form close range.

And so with the scores level at 90 minutes the tie went straight to penalty kicks. Anthony Dudley, Gary Roberts, Kevin Roberts and Lloyd Marsh-Hughes all scored their’s, and with Gray saving from Luke Hinsley, up stepped Simon Grand to convert and send Chester through 5-3.

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