Scunthorpe
United (A) | Curzon
Ashton (H) | Southport (H)
| Tamworth (A)
| South Shields (H) | Buxton (A)
Saturday
16 March Tamworth
0 Chester 0
National League North
Attendance: 2,205 (605 Chester) Half Time: 0-0
Booked: Peers, Weeks.
Tamworth: Singh, Curley, Cockerill-Mollett
(Tonks 87), Finn, Milnes, Acquaye (Williams 67), Liburd,
Dolman, Creaney, Wray (Deaco 81), Sundire. Subs not used:
Tshikuna, Enoru.
Chester: Stanway, Woodthorpe, Weeks,
Burke, Williams, Peers, Glandon, Caton (Tollitt 74), Whitehouse,
Murray, Roberts. Subs not used: Taylor, Norton, Heywood,
Coates.
Referee: Lee Dibble.
Many
of the Chester fans gathered for a pre-match tipple in
the unmissable Tamworth Tap – rightly awarded the
CAMRA national pub of the year – would have settled
for a draw after their team’s visit to the high-flying
league leaders.
Although Chester were awarded
a vital point for their endeavours at the Lamb ground,
it could actually have been a different story if the
Blues had converted any of their second half chances.
In truth it was difficult to see how
Tamworth, who Chester had dispatched 2-0 at home earlier
in the season, were leading the Conference North by
such a distance The first half was actually a really
lacklustre game of football, with neither side able
to make any serious attempt on goal and looking like
they'd both be happy with a draw.
Declan Weeks and Elliott Whitehouse
both had shots which went way over the bar, and at the
other end Tamworth’s number 18, Jordan Cullinane-Libard
had bit of a stand-off with Wyll Stanway before a free
kick taken by his captain Ben Milnes led to a couple
of goal attempts which were well cleared by the Chester
defence.
Centre back Cullinane-Libard went
on to be named man-of-the-match and is perhaps a good
reason why Tamworth have conceded only 22 goals so far
this season. There also weren’t many balls getting past
his larger-than-life fellow defender, Liam Dolman.
The second half was a better watch,
with Chester looking more threatening after Ben Tollitt
replaced Charlie Caton on the 74th minute. He’d barely
been on the pitch when he was twisting the Tamworth
defenders inside and out. Urged on by 605 Chester fans
in a record National League North crowd for Tamworth,
he had one of Chester’s first serious goal attempts
which was well saved by Jas Singh.
Soon after, Chester came closest to
scoring when a scramble in the box led to a Harrison
Burke strike, which was somehow cleared off the line
by the Tamworth defence. There was a look of handball
about the clearance, but the referee was having none
of it.
Chester continued to press, seemingly
having more energy on the plastic pitch than their hosts.
Both George Glendon and Tom Peers also had close range
shots cleared in the dying embers of the game.
When the full-time whistle was
blown, it was the Tamworth players who sat on the pitch
to recover, looking more pleased than their visitors
to have shared the spoils at this stage of the season
against a determined set of opponents.
Sue Choularton
Picture
© Rick Matthews
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Tuesday
12 March Chester
0 Southport 1 National
League North
Attendance: 1,739 Half Time: 0-0
Booked: Williams.
Chester: Stanway, Burton, Williams, Edwards
(Norton 78), Coates, Burke, Whitehouse, Glendon, Weeks,
Tollitt (Caton 60), Peers Subs not used: Woodthorpe, Daly,
Murray.
Southport: Renshaw, Doyle, Arthur, Hockenhull,
Quansah, Thomson (Anson 46), Philliskirk, Hmami (Burgess
83), Lloyd, Bennett, Carver (Russ 90). Subs not used:
McMillan, Flowers.
Referee: Robert Claussen.
Chester’s
inability to score haunted them at home once again as
they slid to defeat against Southport – the first
time the opposition had won here since 2001.
They began brightly enough pushing the Sandgrounders back
for spells. For all their endeavour however none of the
crosses into the box found a Chester head or foot and
the visitors’ goal remained intact. Weeks went close
when he opportunistically lobbed the keeper from the edge
of the area. But his volley clipped the top of the bar.
Tollitt fired a free kick over as the last act in anger
of the first half.
Danny Lloyd was guilty of missing a gilt edged opportunity
for the visitors midway in the first period when he met
Thomson’s sweeping cross from the right but shanked
his shot wide.
As the game wore on a familiar pattern developed with
Southport restricting City’s ability to play through
midfield. When forced to go long Peers and Tollitt found
little joy against colossal centre backs Arthur and Hockenhull.
Things got even more congested in the middle after the
break as the Sandgrounders replaced wing back Thomson
with another centre back, Anson. When Chester tried to
go down the flanks, Coates in particular was isolated
and outnumbered and struggled to make progress despite
great efforts.
Southport hit City on the break when Qansah’s deep
cross was met by Bennett who headed home. Despite seeming
to shove Matty Williams to the ground, Bennett’s
goal stood. City strove for an equaliser: Caton who’d
replaced Tollitt hammered a shot straight at Renshaw and
the keeper gathered. Whitehouse seemed to get in the way
of a goal bound shot and Burke’s majestic header
was scrambled away from the line. Burton’s cross
from the left glanced off the crossbar and unfortunately
over the head of the onrushing Coates.
City were out of luck in the final third as so often this
season, and they struggled to find rhythm and cohesion
as a team despite the talented parts. It meant an intensely
frustrating evening for Chester and their followers who
will now begin to fret about qualifying for the play-offs
– so intense is the competition.
Colin Mansley
Picture
© Rick Matthews
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Saturday
9 March Chester 0
Curzon Ashton 0
National League North
Attendance: 2,172 Half Time: 0-0
Booked: Whitehouse, Peers.
Sent-off: K.Burton.
Chester: Stanway, Burke, Williams, Peers,
Glendon, Caton (Thomas 66), Whitehouse, Tollitt (Woodthorpe
71), Murray (Weeks 56), Coates, K.Burton. Subs not used:
Norton, Edwards.
Curzon Ashton: Ollerenshaw, Matthews,
Sinclair, Spencer, Hayhurst, Mols (Lewis 74), Allen (Campbell
81), Richards, Mahon, Barton, Hughes. Subs not used: Kenyon.
Referee: Niall Smith.
Kieran
Burton’s debut for the Blues was nothing if not
uneventful. In a drab game he stood out – giving
a man of the match performance and, on another day, might
have scored a debut hat-trick if he had finished the chances
that came his way as a marauding left back. Sadly, his
afternoon was curtailed when awarded a second yellow card
after expressing his annoyance at a throw in decision
by slamming the ball down on the ground.
The Hartlepool loanee made his bow in a back three along
with Burke and Williams. Nathan Woodthorpe was on the
bench along with Declan Weeks. Kev Roberts was absent
whilst City started with Tollitt, Peers and Caton in their
line-up. Curzon were only able to name three substitutes.
City began attacking the Harry Mac applying pressure but
not creating clear cut opportunities. The closest they
came was when Murray’s clever cut back found Gendon
on the edge of the area. The captain’s clipped shot
rebounded off the crossbar and away to safety. He had
another effort from a similar position but found only
the arms of Ollerenshaw. Burton saw his opportunistic
volley parried behind by the keeper and Whitehouse headed
over the bar when the ball returned back across goal from
a corner.
The visitors defended deep and fought tigerishly to wrest
the ball from the Blues and retained it skilfully. Though
carrying a threat on the break they seldom troubled Stanway
except for a ball inside which put Jamie Allen through
on goal. Stanway parried his shot onto the post.
Weeks replaced Murray soon after the break and Thomas
came on for Caton shortly after as City tried to break
down stubborn opposition. A fine run forwards with the
ball by Burton culminated in a one-two with Peers and
the newbie just unable to finish past the keeper. Following
Burton’s early departure, Tollitt was sacrificed
for the defensive cover of Woodthorpe, limiting City’s
attack further.
Numbers were evened up when Curzon skipper Spencer received
a second yellow for following through on Matty Williams.
This and the addition of seven extra minutes at the end
gave City fans hopes of three points a fresh impetus.
But despite a flurry of corners at either end, no side
was able to fashion a shooting chance and the game finished
goalless.
This was Chester’s fourth draw on the run –
a sequence which threatens their bid to hold on to a play-off
position.
Colin Mansley
Picture
© Rick Matthews
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Saturday
2 March Scunthorpe
United 2 Chester 2
National League North
Attendance: 7,511 (1,142 Chester) Half Time: 0-1
Booked: Glendon, Stanway, Roberts, Whitehouse, Williams.
Scunthorpe United: Fitzsimons, Ogle (Elliott
79), Evans, Boyce, McAlinden, Pugh (Beestin 65), Butterfield,
Scales, Sembie-Ferris, Denton, Whitehall. Subs not used:
Kelly, Clarke, Burrows.
Chester: Stanway, Woodthorpe, Taylor,
Burke, Williams, Glendon, Caton (Peers 61), Whitehouse,
Tollitt (Thomas 87), Murray, Roberts. Subs not used: Norton,
Daly, Edwards.
Referee: Luis Griffiths.
Chester are pegged back
twice as they come away from Scunthorpe with a point in
front of a record National League North crowd.
Picture
© Rick Matthews
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