Picture © Rick Matthews

Chester moved second in the league after fighting back two win at Rushall Olympic who were reduced to ten men in the opening half.

The Blues started strongly with Connell Rawlinson going close on a couple of occasions. A great save from Paul White in the Pics goal denied Kevin Roberts’ effort from finding the top corner of the net. Rushall saw Dempsey Arlott-John receive a second yellow card for a foul on Harrison Burke before the home side, against the run of play, took the lead on the stroke of half time.

Jack Bainbridge’s trip on Terrell Pennent gave referee Rob Claussen no choice but to point to the penalty spot and Luke Benbow duly dispatched the spot-kick.

Chester continued to press after the break and scored a deserved equaliser just after the hour mark as Nathan Cameron deflected a Nathan Woodthorpe cross past White into his own net.

Five minutes later Charlie Caton notched his seventh goal in eight matches as the home side failed to clear a Declan Weeks corner and Caton scored from close range to secure all three points.

Picture © Rick Matthews

FA Cup Second Round Qualifying
Attendance: 1,504 Half Time: 1-0
Booked: -.

Chester: Harrison, Roberts, Burke, Pollock, Woodthorpe, Bainbridge, Glendon, Murray (Weeks 78), Caton (Rosenblatt 88), Turner (Willoughby 78), Peers. Subs not used: Brown, Hancox, Hunter.
Hebburn Town: Hunter, Heywod, Turner, Thompson, Donaghy, Elsdon, Noble, Spence (Murray 58), Adamson (Moore 77), Martin (Robinson 67), Posthill (Walton 58). Subs not used Devitt, Groves.
Referee: Jonathan Chadwick.

“Hebburn is A Place on Earth” proclaimed the black and yellow banner in the away supporters section as the teams came out. It’s a riff on a Belinda Carlisle song rather than a communication with other planets – or indeed, a theological statement – though it could be both. The Hornets did ensure that the ball was in the air a lot of the time but were also capable of playing it along the ground and arrived on good form and with some Football League experience and know-how in their side.

Chester were invited to attack the Harry McNally End in the first period and, after a cagey opening few minutes began to find ways to get round Hebburn’s stubborn defence. Dan Turner up against his namesake Michael on Chester’s right side looked lively and made inroads on a couple of occasions. City tried to be patient and build from the back but had to beware of Hornets buzzing around their defence. When Elyh Harrison’s laid-back clearance landed at the feet of Spence, the goal gaped invitingly. Fortunately for City he looped his effort over the bar.

A goal for Hebburn to hang on to would have made things difficult for the Blues but instead they were able to forge ahead thanks to an emphatic finish by Tom Peers. He set the move in motion when he cleverly controlled Bainbridge’s aerial pass and moved it smartly out to Turner on the right. Turner’s first couple of crosses into the box were repulsed but when the ball arrived a third time Peers controlled and shot in an instant to rifle it into the far corner.

City pushed to try and get another before half time as Glendon and Murray pulled the strings in midfield. Murray’s cross from the left was met perfectly by Caton but Donaghy scooped it away off the line. Chester had to be content with a slender lead.

Experienced midfielder Liam Noble found his way into the referee’s notebook when he tripped Glendon’s progess towards goal. The home fans were letting their frustration be heard at the ref’s perceived leniency towards some of the physical challenges but it proved to be the only time the official showed his card to anyone on the pitch. Both Hebburn’s assistant and Calum McIntyre however saw it later as tensions spilled over after Moore’s aerial challenge on Pollock.

Turner clipped Murray’s clever corner narrowly over and, as the game entered the last quarter of an hour, Caton fired a shot across goal. It took the fresh legs and inspiration of Declan Weeks to unlock Hebburn’s rearguard as he picked the pass for Peers to score a second with ten minutes to go.

Hebburn responded with a flurry of shots on Chester’s goal but Harrison was equal to them both. Oskar Rosenblatt came on for a debut performance and almost crowned it with a goal but slipped as he rounded the keeper. He did though provide an assist for Glendon to add a third in stoppage time.

Hornets’ player manager Daniel Moore had the last kick of the match, booting the ball over the main stand as the referee’s final whistle went. Chester progress to the Third Qualifying Round which takes them to the Teesside town of Stockton, just a few miles and a few league places separating them from Hebburn.

Picture © Rick Matthews

National League North
Attendance: 2,254 Half Time: 1-0
Booked: -.

Chester: Harrison, Hunter, Weeks, Williams (Burke 7), Peers, Glendon, Willoughby (Turner 75), Caton, Woodthorpe, Pollock, Bainbridge. Subs not used: Hancox, Murray, Roberts.
South Shields: Boney, Okeke (Taylor 72), Shepherd, Bramwell, Heany, Briggs, Crossley, Hodgson, Mee (Smith 64), Middlemass (McGowan 64), Rutledge. Subs not used: Seymour, Watts.
Referee: Oliver Noonan.

The game was only two minutes old when Matty Williams, making his first start of the season, sustained a serious-looking injury. He collapsed when shielding the ball from an attacker on the right touchline and remained prone while play continued. After medical attention he was stretchered off the field to sympathetic applause. Burke came on to replace him.

South Shields saw more of the ball in the opening exchanges without creating anything clear cut. They came into the match on reasonable form but without their top marksman Paul Blackett. Several times a through ball nearly found a striker but Blues defenders were able to intercept and retrieve the situation. Going forward City too were unable to muster a shot on target, though Glendon’s promising run into the box saw his effort blocked.

As a drab first half ran in to stoppage time Blues took the lead thanks to a scruffy goal. Willoughby’s cross from the left was parried by the goalkeeper, Weeks scuffed a shot towards goal and Peers deflected it into the back of the net off a defender. It didn’t look pretty but the Blues were not complaining as they had a vital lead.

It proved to be the only goal of the game but City’s much improved display in the second period was lacking only in the quality of their finishing. Given the chances created they should have ensured the result was settled long before the final whistle as they dominated midfield and cut through the Mariners’ defences time and again. Charlie Caton was the chief culprit of missed opportunities, heading a Hunter cross wide, blazing a shot from the edge of the area over the bar and unluckily seeing the ball come off one post, trickle along the line and deflect off the other post to safety after his cute strike had beaten the keeper. His best opportunity of all came in the closing minutes when Weeks put him through on goal but lack of composure saw his shot go wide of the target.

Others had further attempts at goal – Weeks’ header was plucked out of the air by a recovering ‘keeper and then Pollock saw his shot, following a corner, skim the top of the crossbar. With such profligacy, increasingly anxiously watching Cestrians braced for the inevitable sucker punch equaliser. But it never came and City held out for the most one-sided of 1-0 wins.

Next Saturday brings another north-east challenge to the Deva as Hebburn Town visit in the FA Cup. The Hornets are currently on good form, flying high in the league below and having won 5-1 at home today.

National League North
Attendance: 2,554 (307 Chester) Half Time: 0-0
Booked: Pollock, Weeks, Peers.

Kidderminster Harriers: Dibble, Richards, McNally, Summerfield, Hemmings, Cadogan (Lambert 56). Foulkes, Brown, Kouhyar, Obadeyi (Thompson 88), Davis. Subs not used: Devine, Bishop, Rubio.
Chester: Harrison, Roberts (Williams 61), Pollock, Burke (Hunter 83), Woodthorpe, Bainbridge, Glendon, Weeks, Caton (Turner 86), Willoughby (Hancox 46), Peers. Sub not used: Murray.
Referee: Ben Robinson.

A trip to Kidderminster is always one to relish and this match, with the Blues backed by 307 noisy travelling fans, didn’t disappoint.

Chester emerged with a well-deserved point, to rob the Harriers of their fourth straight home victory of the season, in a game that was a good advert for the National League North.

The first half saw the defence winning out in both sides, with on-loan teenage goalkeeper Elyh Harrison giving another assured Chester performance. He made early stops from Ashley Hemmings and Maliq Cadogan, while George Glendon had a shot which went well wide.

The second half saw Kidderminster’s Welsh goalkeeper Christian Dibble (son of Andy Dibble) hearing some robust chants from the City fans right behind him, and it wasn’t long before he was the one cheering when a Hemmings cross at the other end enabled Tope Obadeyi to put the Harriers in front.

There had been chances for Chester, who had Mitch Hancox coming on for Kurt Willoughby at the re-start, but they hadn’t had anything on target at that stage.

The Blues continued to press after Kidderminster’s 65th minute goal, and the tide turned when Dibble dropped the ball from a free-kick and it was cleared away for a corner. Matty Williams almost headed home from the corner, but Hemmings put his hand out to stop the ball on the line. A penalty was awarded and nerve-less Charlie Caton converted well from the spot-kick in front of the travelling army.

There were 13 minutes of normal time left, and Chester made valiant efforts to leave Aggborough with three points. But the deadlock couldn’t be broken, and it was still an excellent away point for the Blues.