News from Deva Stadium November 2016

30 November 2016
BLUES MOVE EIGHTH
Second half goals from Kane Richards and a brace from James Alabi gave Chester a 3-0 win over North Ferriby United last night to move up to eighth in the table. The crowd of 1,392 was the lowest home gate of the season. Chester will be looking to keep their unbeaten run going when they travel to Guiseley on Saturday, kick-off 15.00hrs.

• League Table after North Ferriby victory | Match pictures

29 November 2016
IWELUMO APPOINTED ASSISTANT
Former player Chris Iwelumo has been appointed assistant manager to replace Ian Sharps who left for Walsall recently. Iwelumo made 10 appearances for the Blues scoring one goal and has a wealth of experience in a playing career that took him to Stoke City, Watford, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Charlton Athletic and Burnley as well as representing Scotland as a full international.

CHESTER HALL OF FAME DESKTOP CALENDAR

The Exiles, in association with the Former Players Association, have produced a 2017 desktop calendar (16cmx18cm) featuring the 18 Hall of Fame members. The calendar will go on sale towards the end of the week, and will be available to purchase at Eastleigh on Saturday. The cost of the calendar is £8.00 and PayPal orders can be taken at a cost of £10.00 which includes postage and packing.

28 November 2016
FA TROPHY
Chester have been drawn away to either Witton Albion or Boston United in the first round of the FA Trophy. Those two sides play each other tomorrow night after the original match on Saturday was abandoned at half-time due to fog with Witton leading 1-0 through a Rob Hopley goal. The first round will take place on Saturday 10 December.

THREE POINTS AT EASTLEIGH
Chester recorded their first win at Eastleigh on Saturday as goals from Kane Richards, Elliott Durrell and Tom Shaw gave them a 3-0 victory. Eastleigh enjoyed plenty of possession but goalkeeper Alex Lynch was rarely troubled and when called upon saved well. The Blues remain 12th in the league following the victory.

A delighted manager Jon McCarthy said “We’ve lost one game in 14 and there has been a few challenges lately. We’ve had a couple of draws at home and I think that has been some unfair criticism on some of the players when you see the results as a whole.”

“But they’ve bounced back again and come to Eastleigh, where nobody has given us a chance. To produce that result, this group of players, trust them and be proud of them because they are proud of you and proud to wear your shirt. They are punching above their weight again, again and again. They were outstanding and deserve everything they get.”

The Blues are back in action on Tuesday night with a home game against bottom of the table North Ferriby United, kick-off 19.5hrs.

• League table after Eastleigh victory

25 November 2016
PAUL FUTCHER 1956-2016
Former Chester player Paul Futcher has died at the age of 60 following illness. The Upton born defender joined Chester as an apprentice and made his full debut at the age of just 16 in the 1972/73. He went on to make 22+1 appearances before he was transferred, along with his twin brother Ron, to Luton Town for a joint fee of £125,000. In 1978 he became the most expensive defender in England when he moved from The Hatters to Manchester City for £350,000. His career took him to Oldham Athletic, Derby County, Barnsley and Grimsby Town. He also had a spell as manager at Southport and took them to the FA Trophy final in 1998 in which he played at the age of 41.

• Obituary

24 November 2016
BLUES SQUANDER LEAD
Chester had goalkeeper Alex Lynch to thank as they came away from Tuesday’s match against Southport with a point. Man of the match Lynch pulled off a series of great saves as Chester squandered a two goal half time lead given to them by Kane Richards and James Alabi. Steve Burr’s side fought back after the break with Andrai Jones and Jamie Allen drawing the Sandgrounders level and Lynch pulling off several saves to preserve the point as Chester hung-on.

Manager Jon McCarthy said: “When you are 2-0 up at home you should expect to see the game out. It is an improved Southport team from when we played them last and I feel like our game plan worked perfectly in the first half, we kept our shape and hit them on the counter and both our strikers have got a goal. So then we are expecting to see the game out in the second half. There were a couple of good finishes from the but we can be critical in terms of us being deep.”

• Match pictures

22 November 2016
FA YOUTH CUP
The third round FA Youth Cup tie at FC Broxbourne Borough will take place on Wednesday 7 December, kick-off 19.30hrs. Admission prices are £5.00 adults and £2.50 concessions. The football club are hoping to run a supporters coach to this game but a minimum number of 40 will be required for this to go ahead. The coach will leave the ground at 13.00hrs and will cost around £20-£25. If you wish to book a seat on the coach, please contact the club ticket office on 01244 371376 as soon as possible.

21 November 2016
SHAW PENALTY RESCUES POINT

Tom Shaw’s second half penalty ensured Chester salvaged a point following a below-par performance against Bromley on Saturday. Blair Turgott had given the visitors a 15th minute lead with a deflected effort past Alex Lynch in the Blues goal. Kane Richards went close and James Alibi was superbly tackled in the six yard box as Chester tried without success to draw level.

The blues however failed to create any chances of note until the 69th minute when Richards was brought down by Conor Dymond in the box and referee Antony Coggins pointed to the spot. Shaw stepped up to convert the spot-kick.

Ryan Astles headed just over and Jordan Chapell could have done better with an effort going wide in the dying minutes, as Chester struggled against the big organised Bromley defence. The final chance of the game fell to the visitors as Jordan Higgs saw a header superbly saved by Lynch.

Manager Jon McCarthy was disappointed with the performance from his players saying: “It was not a classic and a bit of me feels like I want to apologise a little bit in terms of the performance. We were disappointed with that.”

“It felt like after the Lord Mayor’s show after Tranmere last week. We did talk about that. I wish I could give you that performance every week but I get the same amount of points for it and points are not easy to come by in the National League, and we’ve got another one.”

“The lads are disappointed in there. They’re in there feeling like they've got beat.”

Chester, now without a win in six matches, host Steve Burr’s Southport side on Tuesday night, kick-off 19.45hrs.

• League Table after Bromley match | More pictures

18 November 2016
CHAIRMAN APPOINTED
The club have announced that Alan Povey is to be the new chairman of City Fans United, he was co-opted to the board last year as a community director. Following his appointment Povey said: “I’ve supported the club for 30 years and to represent the CFU membership as chair is a wonderful honour. I hope to build on the hard work of previous board members and chairmen to improve the CFU. I would like to thank Simon Olorenshaw for all his hard work on the board.”

16 November 2016
GREAT WIN FOR YOUTH TEAM
The Youth Team created a shock by beating Bolton Wanderers 2-0 tonight in the second round of the FA Youth Cup in front of a crowd of 580. The young Blues took the lead six minutes before half time through Nathan Brown and desppite late pressure from Bolton, who had earlier been reduced to ten men following a red card to Luca Navarro, Chester wrapped up the tie with a stoppage time goal from Conor Rowbottom.

The team will now travel to FC Broxbourne Borough in the third round. The Cheshunt based side created a shock themselves winning 2-1 at Boreham Wood tonight to set up the tie on a date to be confirmed.

15 November 2016
SHARPS LEAVES CHESTER

Assistant manager Ian Sharps has left Chester for the role of first team coach at League One side Walsall on what is believed to be a three year contract at the Banks’s Stadium. The club will immediately be advertising for a replacement. Sharps was appointed assistant at Chester in the summer following a successful time in the caretaker role with Jon McCarthy at the end of last season. Previously he’d made 38+1 appearances in a Blues shirt.

Chief Executive Officer Mark Maguire said: “We are genuinely disappointed to lose Ian who has made a significant contribution to the team during his time here as a player and more recently supporting Jon McCarthy – we are grateful for his hard work, commitment and professionalism.”

Picture © Rick Matthews (Chester Leader)

14 November 2016
LATE ASTLES GOAL EARNS POINT

In a game that had just about everything, Chester came from two goals down at the break to grab a deserved draw through a Ryan Astles stoppage time goal. Andy Cook and Ben Tollitt had given the home side a two goal advantage in the opening 45 minutes, the Tollit effort appeared to have an element of handball during the build up that was not pulled up by referee Thomas Bramall.

Chester struck early in the second half with a well taken Ton Shaw header before Tollitt was sent off with a second yellow card. Chester pushed to try and make their extra man advantage count but found the home defence hard to break down.

With the game entering five minutes added time Astles was pushed up front and he was in the right place to meet Johnny Hunt’s clipped in left wing cross to send a half volley past Scott Davies in the home goal to set up wild scenes in the away end as nearly 1200 Blues supporters celebrated.

Astles, who was born in Birkenhead said: “It was against my local team when I was growing up, a team whose results I used to look out for. To have that moment in front of such a massive crowd was unbelievable. It was the most amazing moment of my career.”

The point keeps Chester in 12th position in the league, they are next in action on Saturday with a home game against Bromley, kick-off 15.00hrs.

Picture © Rick Matthews (Chester Leader)

• League Table | More pictures

10 November 2016
MIDFIELDER SIGNS
Chester have signed 20-year-old midfielder Will Marsh. The Crewe born player began his career with Wrexham before moving to the Liverpool U21 side. He had a spell on loan at Sheffield Wednesday last season.

8 November 2016
DAVE DURIE 1931-2016
Chester FC are sorry to learn of the death of former wing-half Dave Durie who died at the end of August at the age of 85. A member of the 1964/65 team that scored 119 league goals he also played in the memorable Third Round FA Cup tie at Old Trafford in January 1965 when Peter Hauser’s side were narrowly beaten 2-1 by Manchester United.

• Obituary

YOUTH DATE
Chester’s home FA Youth Cup second round match against Bolton Wanderers will take place on Wednesday 16 November, kick-off 19.30hrs.

TRANMERE TICKETS
The league game at Tranmere Rovers on Saturday is not all-ticket, however advanced tickets give a £2.00 discount on the pay on the day price. Pre-bought tickets cost £17.00 for adults, £10.00 for over-65s, £10.00 for 18-22-year-olds, £5.00 for 14-17-year olds, and £2.00 for under-14s, who must be accompanied by an older age category supporter. Tickets for disabled fans cost £10.00 and their carer will have free entry. The club have been allocated 2,000 seats.

4 November 2016
CUP SUCCESS FOR YOUTH TEAM
A superb goal from Nathan Brown gave the youth earn a fully deserved 1-0 victory over Fleetwood Town in the first round of the FA Youth Cup on Wednesday night. Brown struck from a free-kick in the 66th minute to set up a home tie with Bolton Wanderers in the second round, the furthest the club have gone in the competition since they were reformed.

A delighted youth team manager Calum McIntyre told the Chester Chronicle: “We were outstanding and it’s no real surprise from our point of view. I’m delighted at what it represents and what it means but I think our players showed what they were all about.”

“We talk about the culture of players we’re going to have at Chester and they have to have that attitude, desire and belief – and we had that in abundance.”

“You know when you’ve got the quality of players we have, somebody will produce some magic, but their attitude and what they produced off the ball tonight was incredible. They deserve it for what they are as players and people.”

Chester: Hodges, Thomson, Downes, Cottrell (Crayston 64), E.Jones, J.Jones, Edwards, Crawford, Rowbottom, Brown, Ap-Gareth. Subs not used: Hardman, Carr, Hewitt, Dobson.

2 November 2016
CHAIRMAN RESIGNS
Club chairman Simon Olorenshaw has resigned after 11 months in post due to increasing work commitments with Merseyrail. Current vice chairman Jonny Hughes will fill the chairman position until the next board meetng.

Olorenshaw said: “It is with great regret that, due to work commitments, I have decided to step down from the Board of the CFU, with immediate effect. I have thoroughly enjoyed my time on the CFU Board and am proud to have been a part of the amazing journey that our club is on. I shall continue to attend games with Jackie, and wish the Board, Jon McCarthy and Ian Sharps all the best for the future.”

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