National League North
Attendance: 2,830 (555 Macclesfield) Half-time 1-0
Booked: -.

Chester: Murray-Jones, Kelly-Evans, Woodthorpe, Weeks, Leak, Bainbridge, Murray, Mottley-Henry, Shrimpton, Arthur, F.Roberts (Peers 63). Subs not used: Davies, S.Burgess, Shorrock, I.Burgess.
Macclesfield: Dearnley, Fensome (Dos Santos 65), Menayese, Dawson, Buckley-Ricketts (Matheson 65), Mellor, Heathcote, Lacey, Johnson (Duffy 46), Whitehead (Woltman 46), Edmondson (Griffiths 76). Subs not used: Nicholson, Elliott.
Referee: Ben Robinson.

Chester overcame the adversity caused by a flu bug in the team along with injuries to pull off a surprising 2-0 win over Cheshire neighbours Macclesfield.

The depth of City’s injury crisis was demonstrated by a bench with only five available including youngsters Billy Davis and Isaac Burgess. Back into the starting eleven came Festus Arthur and Fin Shrimpton.

Blues began in 4-4-2 formation with Mottley-Henry and Fin Roberts combining up front. Macclesfield came into the game level on points with City but having played a couple of games less. The game developed scrappily although there was an early scare for Chester. The Silkmens’ skipper Dawson was up ended twenty-five yards from goal, He took the free kick himself rolling it right to Heathcote who sent a pile-driver of a shot goal-wards. Murray-Jones parried it but only as far as Buckley-Ricketts. The Macc right winger struck the rebound first time but watched it pass agonisingly wide of the far post.

Macclesfield retained the ball better and began to exert pressure on City – moving the ball out to either wing where Justin Johnson and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts patrolled. Both wingers were closely watched by Kelly-Evans and Woodthorpe, the latter producing a swashbuckling tackle to make sure Buckley-Ricketts and ball did not get behind down City’s left. Though that tackle was not penalised another in that area resulted in a free kick which Fensome met with a glancing header. Murray-Jones did well to palm it superbly round the foot of the post.

Against this run of play Chester went up the other end and took an unlikely lead. Shrimpton hooked the ball up to Roberts and sprinted forward to collect a return pass, bursting into space on the edge of the area. He drove it left footed across and Mottley-Henry slid in to nudge it past Dearnley and into the net.

Macclesfield looked to reply before the break. Buckley-Ricketts got behind on the left this time and tried to curl a shot inside the far post but once again Murray-Jones was equal to it and dived full stretch to knock it wide.

The visitors made a couple of substitutions at half time and it might have been expected that they would push strongly for an equaliser. But City more than held their own. Tireless pressing by the forwards and midfield prevented the Silkmen from making inroads. The Blues might well have been awarded a penalty when a cross from the right saw Mottley-Henry wrestled to the ground by Menayese in a hold of which Big Daddy or Mick McManus would have been proud. The referee waived all claims away however.

Macclesfield made further substitutions – using the full five allotted but still could not find a way through City’s stubborn defending, resolutely maintaining team shape. City made just the one change when Roberts was injured and Peers replaced him up front. The fresh energy that Peers brought almost led to a spectacular second when he flicked the ball over a defender then volleyed over the bar. Mottley-Henry was as slippery as an eel on either wing and was a high energy nuisance to the Silkmen as the game wore on. He cut in from the right and curled a shot to the far corner but a deflection took it wide.

From the corner on the left Chester made the result safe. Arthur lurked menacingly at the far post and the ball dropped to Tom Leak who stabbed it towards the goal where it was hooked away by Dawson – but too late. The linesman raised his flag to indicate that it had indeed crossed the line and City celebrated clinching three points.

Interviewed afterwards Calum McIntyre acclaimed the result as one of the best under his management against a team that have done well in the FA Cup this season and will face Crystal Place in a few days’ time. No doubt a measure of the relief felt in producing such a resilient performance in the face of the problems caused by illness and injury.

National League North
Attendance: 2,327 (97 South Shields) Half-time 0-0
Booked: Carson.

Chester: Murray-Jones, Kelly-Evans, Leak, Peers (F.Roberts 78), Bainbridge, Mottley-Henry, Leigh, Woods (Weeks 66), P.Jones, Carson, K.Roberts (Woodthorpe 78). Subs not used: Davies, Murray, Shrimpton, Shorrock.
South Shields: Watson, Tinkler, Bainbridge, Sykes (Ward 59), McGurk (Gordon 72), Blackett (Wheeldon 83), Jenkins, Mann, Scott, Woolston (Allcock 52), Dodds. Subs not used: Savage, Sloan.
Referee: Kavan Hurn.

Chester went toe-to-toe with high flying South Shields for much of this pre-Christmas encounter but eventually went down to defeat.

At the break the match was scoreless though Chester had the lion’s share of attacking play. Leigh was prominent in picking up the loose ball and maintaining City’s forward momentum but hit a couple of free kicks into Shield’s defensive wall. Peers’ pass gave Bainbridge the chance to run through on goal but he couldn’t quite tuck the ball past the keeper. In the resulting scramble Watson saved Pat Jones’s effort and then Mottley-Henry’s goal-bound shot. Peers found an opening but found the keeper with his shot. Similarly Pat Jones could not direct his effort wide of Watson in the South Shields goal.

The visitors broke with pace and Cedwyn Scott came close to opening the scoring but was flagged offside. Carson and Leak did well to contain the threat of both Scott and Blackett in the middle but City struggled at times to prevent crosses coming in from either wing.

Minutes into the second half City broke the deadlock when Woods clipped home confidently from the penalty spot. The kick had been awarded following a blatant shove by Tinkler into the back of the leaping Mottley-Henry. Referee Hurn was well placed to observe it and pointed straight to the spot. City were dominant now and almost increased the lead following a corner. Leigh volleyed a venomous shot from the edge of the area which hit the outstretched boot of a defender and deflected narrowly over the bar. Leigh beat the turf in frustration.

The Mariners brought Todd Alcock on to replace Woolston and – now that their cage had been well and truly rattled by City – they raised their intensity. The equaliser came in a swift move. Chester lost possession on the left flank, the ball was hoisted forward and a clever flick by Scott sent Jenkins away he tucked the ball inside for Blackett who, in turn deftly slid it past Murray-Jones into the net.

Now it was Chester’s turn to be second to most things and Mariners took the lead when McGurk’s cross from the left was headed into the corner of the goal by Jenkins, giving Murray-Jones little chance. With ten minutes to go the result was put beyond doubt when Shields pressed Chester out of possession on the right and, following some intensive attacking, Scott swept the ball home for a third goal.

City could not live with the level that South Shields had achieved by the end. It was quite some comeback by the visitors because, prior to that, City had been on top and threatening to take the game away. Nevertheless South Shields went back to the top of the league as a result of this performance.

National League North
Attendance: 1,125 Half-time 0-2
Booked: Leigh, K.Roberts, Leak.

King’s Lynn Town: Jones, Clements, T.Wilson, Dickens, Fleming, Clunan, Williams (Lambert 81), Collins (Troso 46), Crane, Sealey (Oudnie-Morgan 46), Omotayo. Subs not used: Hapman, C.Wilson, Smith.
Chester: Murray-Jones, Kelly-Evans, Leak, Peers, Bainbridge, Mottley-Henry, Leigh, Woods (Shrimpton 73), P.Jones (Murray 90+2), Carson, K.Roberts. Subs not used: Davies, Weeks, J.Jones, Shorrock, F.Roberts.
Referee: J.Moss.

Chester maintained their unbeaten record against King’s Lynn Town with a 2-0 victory at The Walks. It marked back-to-back away wins for the first time this season following on from the midweek win at Radcliffe.

Both sides saw plenty of the ball in the opening stages, Chester saw an early corner headed off the line while at the other end Linnets skipper Michael Clunan saw an effort fly just wide.

The Blues, playing in all black and hard to distinguish from the home side, who played in all dark blue!, opened the scoring on 15 minutes as Jack Bainbridge’s half-volley took a deflection off a Lynn player into the net. Moments later Dylan Mottley-Henry should have doubled the lead but headed just wide.

Connor Woods sent a curling effort just wide as the visitors continued to create chances. Just after the half hour George Murray-Jones produced a superb fingertip save to deny Morgan Williams’ powerful drive, pushing the ball out for a corner.

The save was to prove vital as right on the stroke of half-tine Chester doubled their advantage as Kevin Roberts ghosted in to flick home a glancing header following a smart Lewis Leigh free kick.

Woods almost added a third early in the second period, his goal bound effort being deflected wide for a corner. DEspite making a couple of changes at the break the hosts rarely threatened the Blues goal in the second half with Ross Crane having their best effort that the impressive Murray-Jones was more than equal to.

The victory saw Chester move up to tenth in the league ahead of their next match against high-flyers South Shields at Deva Stadium a week on Saturday.

• League table after victory at King’s Lynn

National League North
Attendance: 1,004 Half-time 1-2
Booked: Carson.

Radcliffe: Hewelt, McFadzean, Smith, Maynard, Glendon (Thornley 73), Hulme (Dudley 64), Afuye, Roscoe (Modi 73), Greenfield, Sargent, Ball. Subs not used: Halstead, Park, Hope, Partington.
Chester: Murray-Jones, Kelly-Evans, Leek, Peers, Bainbridge, Mottley-Henry, Shrimpton, Leigh (Weeks 69), Woods (J.Jones 81), P.Jones (Murray 88), Carson. Subs not used: Davies, Zanzala, Shorrock, F.Roberts.
Referee: I.Griffiths.

Two quick-fire and clinically taken goals at the start of this contest set Chester up for a win in the second of a trio of games on the road. The weekend’s game at Spennymoor was abandoned with the Blues two goals and a man up but this time City were not to be denied three points. Radcliffe have been flying high this season and scoring freely and made life difficult for Chester for much of the evening.

The Boro – in their blue and yellow chevronned kit – kicked down the slope and took the game to City – playing in all black. Chester’s defence was in a novel combination as Shrimpton deputised at right back for the suspended Roberts and Kelly-Evans continued on the left flank. Both were soon having to deal with overloading attacks as Radcliffe spread play rapidly to either wing and crossed into the box. Seven corners were conceded in the first half alone and the home side threatened to score from each of them.

But when City broke up the hill they did so twice to stunning effect. First Maynard under pressure from Mottley-Henry headed to the edge of the area and Pat Jones hit a sweet first time volley low into the far corner to give City the lead. Peers went down under a challenge defending a dangerous corner from Chester’s left. Soon, however, after it was the Boro feeling collectively sore as the Chester number seven picked up Mottley-Henry’s pass and stroked a left footed shot in off the post in the same corner that Jones had found earlier.

Radcliffe responded by moving the ball around briskly and were back in the game after twenty-two minutes. Greenfield fed the ball to Afuye on the right and he cut in to curl a peach of a shot inside Murray-Jones’ far post. It promised to be a high scoring game at this point but despite much effort from the home side to level matters, the score remained the same until half time.

After the interval Chester were again forced on to the back foot as Boro tried to get behind them on either side. They blocked the danger however and were soon further ahead when Connor Woods’ driven effort was deflected into his own net by Rick Smith. Moments later Kelly-Evans had a glorious shooting opportunity from the edge of the area following great work by Jones but his shot clippied the post as it went wide. Next it was Radcliffe’s turn to respond as Afuye’s in-swinging corner from the right eluded everyone before cannoning off the far post and Maynard struck the rebound over.

The game continued to be open with Chester enjoying playing down the slope. Bainbridge and Woods both had shots on target saved by Hewelt. Ball then beat his man to cross low into the box but Leak’s timely intervention thwarted Dudley as he lined up a shot. Weeks came on to replace Leigh and the skipper began to exert his presence on the game. He found Jones now operating on the left flank, with a couple of incisive passes. Jones hit the side-netting with one effort and on another crossed for Mottley-Henry to mis-cue wide.

Still the chances continued to come at either end. Leak and Carson combined to block Dudley’s shot following a left wing cross by Modi. Down the hill Peers had a shot saved and then Mottley-Henry’s header from Weeks’ corner was palmed over by Hewelt. Iwan Murray came on and calmed City nerves by retaining possession and winning free kicks and eventually the All Blacks held on for a very welcome win at the end of a hugely entertaining game.