Kidderminster
Harriers (A) | South
Shields (H) | Hebburn
Town (FAC2RQ H) | Rushall
Olympic (A) | Stockton Town (FAC3RQ
A)
Saturday
28 September Stockton
Town 1 Chester 1
FA Cup Third Round Qualifying
Attendance: 804 Half Time: 0-0
Booked: Peers.
Stockton Town: Harker, King, Baggs, Painter,
Purwal, Coulthard, Thompson (Roberts 83), Butterworth,
Fowler (Sweet 78), Leech (Henry 78), Gallagher. Subs not
used: Birtles, Spears.
Chester: Harrison, Roberts, Rawlinson,
Burke, Woodthorpe, Bainbridge, Weeks, Glendon (Turner
71), Willoughby (Murray 93), Caton, Peers. Subs not used:
Brown, Hunter, Hancox, Rosenblatt.
Referee: L.Griffiths.
Picture
© Rick Matthews
A last minute equaliser
from Connor Rawlinson earns Chester a Cup replay on Tuesday
night.
Saturday
21 September Rushall
Olympic 1 Chester 2
National League North
Attendance: 686 Half Time: 1-0
Booked: Turner, Weeks.
Rushall Olympic: White, Wilson (Forde
69), Fairnoe, Cameron, Bood, Rees (McAlinden 74), McGinchley
(Martin 73), McLintock, Arlott-John, Benbow (McDonagh
74), Pennant. Sub not used: Offler.
Chester: Harrison, Roberts, Burke, Rawlinson,
Woodthorpe, Bainbridge, Murray (Turner 46), Weeks, Caton,
Willoughby, Peers. Subs not used: Hancox, Hunter, Glendon,
Rosenblatt.
Referee: R.Claussen.
Chester come from behind
to win 2-1 at Rushall and move second in the league.
Picture
© Rick Matthews
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Saturday
14 September Chester
3 Hebburn Town 0
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.
Colin Mansley
Picture
© Rick Matthews
Saturday
7 September Chester
1 South Shields 0
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.
Colin Mansley
Picture
© Rick Matthews
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Tuesday
3 September Kidderminster
Harriers 1 Chester 1
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.
Sue Choularton
Picture
© Rick Matthews
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