National League North
Attendance: 2,257 (87 Worksop Town) Half-time 0-1
Booked: Kelly-Evans.

Chester: Murray-Jones, Kelly-Evans (Peers 66), Woodthorpe, Weeks, Leak, Bainbridge, Mottley-Henry, Shrimpton, Leigh (S.Burgess 66), P.Jones, Arthur. Subs not used: Barlow, Shorrock, I.Burgess.
Worksop Town: Forshaw, Grist (Atherton 55), Leesley, Redford, Starcenko, Marin, O’Malley, Burrow (Wedgbury 81), Whitham (Woods 60), Sanders, Waterfall. Subs not used: Bencherif, Gooda, Fadera, Tomlinson.
Referee: Ben Wyatt.

The first game of the New Year proved to be a hugely frustrating occasion as Chester failed to convert a hatful of chances into goals and went down to defeat against Worksop.

After a scrappy first half an hour the game suddenly produced some chances at either end. Aaron Martin hit the outside of the post with a crisp shot from the edge of the box at the Harry Mac End. Then City went towards the South Stand and couldn’t get the ball over the line despite three presentable opportunities in quick succession. First Mottley-Henry’s shot was blocked in front of goal; then Bainbridge headed against the crossbar and finally Mottley-Henry’s follow up shot was cleared off the line.

Chester were to pay almost immediately for these misses wen Witham dispossessed Woodthorpe and broke down the right. His whipped cross found City on the back foot and Martin met it emphatically to bullet his header into the back of the net. The Blues tried to respond, their best effort before the break came when Jones cut in from the left and saw his shot to the far corner saved spectacularly by Forshaw who palmed it away at full stretch for a corner.

Despite the visitors’ determination to hold on to the lead, Pat Jones managed to get behind their defence to the by-line on five or six occasions. He cut the ball back, he chipped to the far post but could not find a Chester player to find the definite touch. Bainbridge rushed in to knock the ball towards goal but again Forshaw was in the way. Peers was introduced into the attack – Kelly-Evans sacrificed to lend more weight to the attack. He span to shoot just wide of the far post and, agonisingly in the final minute, flicked a cross virtually along the line and narrowly past the post again.

As the game wore on without an equaliser the atmosphere became more fraught. It was for no lack of effort that City went down to defeat but lacked the composure and the predatory finishing to make their dominance count. Once again they were somewhat weakened by injuries and illness – Murray who did so well on Tuesday being the latest to succumb to the flu which has ravaged the squad.

It means that the season is still spluttering and misfiring with City stuck in mid-table but tantalisingly few points short of the play-off positions.