FOOTBALL CONFERENCE 24/04/01
KETTERING 4 CHESTER 0
Collins 3 Att;1216
(4,6,60)
Watkin(54)

Chester certainly looked like a side with mounting problems after this hammering against a side with something to play for.Chester poor attitute,which was to be expected after recent events,showed up early on.Wayne Brown making an awful mistake after only 4 mins,rolling the ball out to make his clearance,ended up straight at the feet of Darren Collins who slotted home from just inside the area.Worst was to come when the City defence made a total hash of a cross from Browns left on 6 mins,Woods & Lancaster failing to clear and Collins found acres of space to beat Brown with ease.City never recovered from this start and were lucky not to go in at the break 4 or 5-0 down.
HALF TIME Kettering 2 Chester 0
The second half was much the same as the first.The travelling City fans had struck a rapore with the home supporters,Kettering joining in with the "Smith Out" chants,which seemed to take our minds off what was happening on the pitch.Citys defence collapsed again on 54 mins though,Dale Watkins lashing in his shot with the help of both goalposts.6 minutes later Darren Collins hit his hatrick as he tapped home from a yard.Paul Carden was the only player to hold his head high after this showing,with a usual non stop performance.It makes you wonder if Smith has banned the players from talking on the pitch as well as off it.Well lets hope Kettering survive the drop with these 3 points,it's certainly a decent place to visit & their fans are the salt of the earth.

FULL TIME:Kettering 4 Chester 0

Team;Brown 5,Lancaster 5,Woods 5,Gaunt 4,
Woodyatt 6,*Carden 7*,Blackburn 6,Ruscoe 5,
Fisher 5,Wright 5,Beesley M 5.
SUBS:Moss 6,Doughty 5.




FOOTBALL CONFERENCE 21/04/01
CHESTER 1 DAG & RED 1
Woods(86)Goodwin(53)
Att,1202

MATTY WOODS grabbed a late equaliser and point for
City today in a game that took second place to
the ever growing cause to out current Chairman Smith.
In a week when devoted Supporter Barrie Hipkiss
was banned from his duties at The Deva,But that
never stopped Mr Hipkiss from attending todays
game,which is more than can be said for the owner.
The one good bit of news is that potential
buyer Phil Davies was at the game so the take
over deal isnt as dead as the Smiths would have
you believe!.
Dispite all this,City started very brightly & were
unlucky to go into the lead as early as
the 3rd minute,Scott Ruscoes shot beating Tony
Roberts in the Dagenham goal,but hitting the
post.Neil Fishers free kick just cleared the
top of the bar moments later.Dagenham had their
chances as well,Junior McDougall being
the main threat.Darren Wright should have put
City in front after 30 mins but his close
range header went straight to keeper Roberts.

HALF TIME CHESTER 0 DAG & RED 0

The visitors took the lead not long after the
restart,Matt Jones cross found Lee Goodwin,who
headed home on 53 mins.Chester should of
equalised on 70 mins though,Tony Roberts
making a total hash of a clearance allowing
Whitehall a golden opportunity,but somehow
Roberts managed to get back and clear the ball
after his mistake.City started to amount
the pressure in the dying minutes,Neil Fisher
provided the cross and MATTY WOODS outjumped
the visitors defence,his looping header
beating Roberts left hand.A point that City
certainly deserved against a good Dagenham side.
Lets hope the buy out is resolved soon,
because the players and the supporters are suffering
with what is going on behind the scenes,
under the present owner our return to the
football league looks many years away.

FULL TIME CHESTER 1 DAGENHAM & RED 1

Teams,Chester.
Brown,Lancaster,Beesley P,*Woods*,Gaunt,
Fisher,Carden,Blackburn,Whitehall,
Wright,Ruscoe.
SUBS USED:Doughty,Woodyatt,Beesley M.

Dag& Red:Roberts,Cole,Lock,*Goodwin*,Rooney,
Terry,Janney,Heffer,Shipp,McDougall,
Jones,Brennan.
SUBS USED:Cobb,Forbes.


FOOTBALL CONFERENCE 18/04/01
LEIGH RMI 0 CHESTER 1
Att,501 Wright (25)




FOOTBALL CONFERENCE 16/04/01
STEVENAGE 1 CHESTER 2
Martin(26) Fisher (4)
Att,1748 Wright (44)

City ended their dreadful run at Broadhall Way on
Easter Monday.
They got of to the perfect start with NEIL FISHER
beating Boro Keeper Taylor with a lob on 4 mins.
A rare error from Wayne Brown on 26 mins allowed
Stevenage back in the game,his poor clearance
only found Dean Martin ,he inturn chipped
the keeper from 35 yds,leaving Brown stranded.
City spent most of the rest of the half
defending and just on the stroke of half time
DARREN WRIGHT(44 mins)scored from Neil Fishers
free kick.

Half Time;Stevenage 1 Chester 2

Chester had an early let off in the second half,
Craig Gaunts own goal ruled out for offside.
Moments later though Gaunt got his marching orders
for a second bookable offence.
Citys 10 men defended well in the second half.
The home sides best chances falling to Illman &
McMahon.Steve Whitehall thought he'd added
a third only to have his effort ruled out for
a foul on keeper Chris Taylor.
The three points have moved City up to eighth
place in the Conference.

Full Time:STEVENAGE 1 CHESTER 2.

Teams CHESTER;
Brown 7,Gaunt 6,Beesley P 7,Woods 7,Lancaster 7,
*Fisher 8*,Carden 8,Blackburn 7,Ruscoe 7,
Whitehall 8,Wright 7.
SUBS;Beesley M 6,Doughty 6.

Stevenage;Taylor,Hamsher,Trott,Sodje,Cort,
Martin,McMahon,Morgan,Abbott,Clarke,Illman.


FOOTBALL CONFERENCE 14/04/01
CHESTER 0 FOREST GREEN 1
Att:1292 Doughty o.g(68)

Report to follow

Team:
Brown 6,Moss 6,Lancaster 6,Woods 6,Beesley P 6,
Doughty 5,Carden 6,Blackburn 5,*Ruscoe 7*,
Whitehall 6,Beesley M 6.
SUBS:Fisher 6,Wright 6.


FA UMBRO TROPHY Semi 2nd leg
CHESTER 0 CANVEY IS 2
Att:2647 Parmenter(30)Stimson(60)

City didnt look like making up the 2-0 deficite
from the away trip to Essex.
Chesters early pressure soon fizzled out as Canvey
started to get into the game.They were rewarded
on 30 mins when Steve Parmenter chipped keeper
Wayne Brown and virtually put the tie out of
Citys reach.The Blues did have a couple
of chances before the break though,both
Whitehall & Beesley should have done better
with their efforts.
HALF TIME:CHESTER 0 CANVEY 1

City started the second half as they did the
first,but once again the finishing was
below par.
Whitehalls header well saved from Ashley
Harrison in the Canvey Goal.On 60 mins the
game was all over as Stimson beat Brown from
25 yds.Citys threat became less and less,Canvey
looked the side to add to the score line not
the home side.The final whistle was welcomed
at the end as this embarrasing cup tie came to
an end.Canvey will now play Forest Green in
the final at Villa Park as our season draws to
a close at the start of April!!

TEAM:
Brown 6,Fisher 5,Lancaster 5,Woods 6,
Beesley P 5,Doughty 5,*Carden 7*,Blackburn 6,Ruscoe 5,
Whitehall 6,Beesley M 6.


FA UMBRO TROPHY,Semi Final 1st leg.
CANVEY 2 CHESTER 0
Tilson(28)Att;1221
Vaughan(73)

Chester have an uphill struggle next Saturday
in the 2nd leg of the Umbro Trophy Semi
Final at The Deva.
City were outplayed at Park Lane and were
lucky only to lose 2-0.Only the heroics of goalkeeper
Wayne Brown kept the score down.
Carl Ruffer went off after 25 mins with a
hamstring injury to be replaced by Craig
Gaunt.City's defence looked very shakey
from then on.Only three minutes later ex
Southend striker Steve Tilson opened the
scoring,chipping the ball over the advancing
Brown.Chesters best chance of the half fell
to Matt Doughty,but instead of taking the chance
himself squared the ball to Woods who
wasted the opportunity.

Half Time;Canvey 1 Chester 0

Canvey had plenty of chances in the second half
to increase their lead,only Brown kept the
score down in this one man show.
But inevitably Canvey increased the lead
on 73 minutes,Ex Spurs youngster Wayne Vaughan
scoring from 25 yds.Canvey had 4 or 5
good chances to put this tie out of Chesters
reach & although the tie isnt over yet City will
find it hard to reduce this deficite at The
Deva this weekend.
Graham Barrow said after the game that Chester
were embarrassing & couldnt of picked a more
inopportune time to turn out the worst display
of the season.

FULL TIME;Canvey 2 Chester 0.

Teams,Chester;
*BROWN*,Fisher,Doughty,Lancaster,Ruffer,
Beesley P,Carden,Porter,Ruscoe,Woods,Beesley M.
SUBS:Gaunt,Moss,Whitehall,Preistley,Haarhoff.

Canvey;
Harrison,Kennedy,Duffy,Chenery,Bodley,Ward,
Tilson,Stimson,Jones,Parmenter.
SUBS:Tanner,Clark,Miller,Thompson,Vaughan.

FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
TELFORD 3 CHESTER 0
Malkin(14)
Palmer(39)
Murphy(68)

Chester lost 3-0 to crisis club Telford last night
at Bucks Head.Two first half goals from Chris
Malkin(14 mins) & Steve Palmer (39 mins)gave
City a mountain to climb in the second half.
Steve Whitehall had a good header well saved by
Ex Macc Keeper Ryan Price & Scott Ruscoe hit
the post with a curling shot.
Gez Murphy sealed the points for the home side,
as City pushed forward Murphy broke away
beating Brown with ease.Chester rested Doughty
& Mark Beesley,also Ruffer was missing
through injury.The rest of the side
seemed to have Canvey Island in the backs
of their minds though!.

Team;Brown 6,*Moss 7*,Woodyatt 6,Woods 6,
Lancaster 6,Beesley P 6,Carden 5,
Fisher 5,Ruscoe 6,Wright 5,Whitehall 6.
SUBS:Gaunt 5,Haarhoff 5,Porter 6.

FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
NUNEATON 1 CHESTER 2
Wray(5) Beesley M(13)Whitehall(30)

The Blues ended their dismal run with a 2-1
win away at Nuneaton Boro on Friday evening.
City went 1-0 down after only 5 mins when Shaun
Wray scored from 10yds.Mark Beesley soon
equalised though after 13 mins,Nuneaton keeper
McKenzie dropping Whitehalls shot and Beesley
scoring from the rebound.Steve Whitehall
himself scored the winner after 30 mins.
Ruscoes cross finding Whitehall in acres of space
and beat the keeper with his left foot effort.
Paul Beesley gave away a penalty(handball)at the
end of the half,but Wayne Brown saved
Jason Peakes spot kick.
Chester spent most of the 2nd half defending,
with Moss,Brown & Ruffer outstanding.
Team;Brown 8,Moss 7,Lancaster 7,*Ruffer 8*,
Beesley P 7,Doughty 7,Carden 7,
Fisher 6,Ruscoe 7,Beesley M 7,Whitehall 7.
SUBS:Woods 6,Haarhoff 6,Woodyatt 6.






FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
CHESTER 0 HEDNESFORD 1
Att;1450 Sedgemore(88 pen)
Chester suffered their 2nd defeat in 5 days at
the hands of bottom club Hednesford.
City dominated the first half,only their
finishing letting them down.As early as 2 or
three mins Mark Beesley was through on goal
from a spendid Ruscoe pass,only to shoot wide of
the goal with only Keeper Mark Gayle to beat.
Gayle was in action again as he made a saves
from Ruffer & Whitehall
HALF TIME;CHESTER 0 HEDNESFORD 0
Hednesford defended well in the first half,
but improved as an attacking unit in the
second.They weathered the early storm and
started to find space in the City half
themselves.Doughty cleared Stuart Lakes
header of the line,then Wayne Brown made
the save of the match,pushing Micky Norburys
header over the bar.Citys best chances came
from Martin Lancaster but finding Gayle still unbeatable.
Darren Wright came on and made himself a
couple of chances,both shots though never
troubling the keeper.
Right at the death,Carl Ruffer challenged
Robinson inside the box,the referee
pointed straight to the spot.
Jake Sedgemore sending Brown the wrong way
from the resulting penalty,gave
the visitors the much needed 3 points in their
fight against relegation.
CHESTER 0 HEDNESFORD 1

Team;Brown 6,Fisher 6,Beesley P 7,Lancaster 6,
Ruffer 7,Doughty 6,Carden 6,Porter 6,Ruscoe 5,
Whitehall 6,Beesley M 6.
SUBS:Woods 6,Wright 5,Haarhoff 6.



FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
SOUTHPORT 1 CHESTER 0
Parke(28)
Att;1279
Citys slim chance of returning to the Football
League this season all but died last night.
Chester were a shadow of the side that
had beaten Mark Wrights team on the two
previous meeting.A Simon Parke header on 28
mins was enought to take all 3 points and
a league double over Chester last night at Haig
Avenue.City were very fortunate not to be
3-0 down at the break,with the home side
hitting the woodwork on several occasions.
Citys only chance came towards the end of the
half when Woods and Whitehall combined for the
first time,finding Mark Beeskey with a bit
of space and Keeper Dickerson saving well.
Barrow had opted for a 5-2-3 formation and
on many occasions the front three were
very isolated.
HALF TIME;SOUTHPORT 1 CHESTER 0.

The second half was a slighty better effort,
but if anything Southport looked the more likely
to add to the score.Midway through the half
Chester made a triple substitution,
any three of the eleven on the park could of
come off with the exception of Ruffer & Lancaster.
City should of been a bit more cavalier than
just sitting back,waiting for something to
happen.But even so a couple of chances did
fall there way.Sub Darren Moss started to run
at their defence and caused a few problems and
a fine run from Lancaster ended with a
cross,which found Woods head,Keeper Dickerson
palmed the ball over the bar well.Southport
finished the game witha late rally and Full back
Lane brought the best out of Wayne Brown in
the dying minutes.As the league programme
may have little meaning for the rest of the
season,maybe Graham Barrow may adopt a more
natural 4-4-2 formation for the rest of the
season so the supply to the front players
may be of better quality and also give the
superb travelling army of Blues something to
shout about.As again last night,without
the City supporters,the ground would have
looked pretty empty!!.

FULL TIME;SOUTHPORT 1 CHESTER 0.

Team,Chester:
Brown 7,Fisher 5,*Lancaster 7,Ruffer 7,Gaunt 5,
Doughty 5,Carden 6,Ruscoe 6,Whitehall 6,
Woods 5,Beesley M 5.
SUBS:Porter 5,Moss 6,Haarhoff 5.




FA UMBRO TROPHY 5th Rd
CHESTER 1 SOUTHPORT 0
Woods(88)
Att,3204
MATCH PHOTOS Click here
Chester joined Hereford,Canvey Island &
Forest Green in the semi's of the Umbro cup on
saturday after MATTY WOODS late strike.
The visitors hadn't come to The Deva for
the draw and probably shaded the first.
Mike Marsh was unlucky not to open the
scoring when his shot went agonisingly across
the goal,with no one following up with just
a touch.Also Southport had a penalty claim
turned down, Woods challenged Parke
in the area,Parke went to ground,
but didnt make a meal of it and Mr Pollack
from Maghull waved play on.
City's main threat came from set pieces,
Ruffer & Gaunt going close with headers.
Southports main threat was again coming
from Arnold.

HALF TIME CHESTER 0 SOUTHPORT 0

If The Sandgrounders had the better of the
first half,City come out on top in the
second.Jimmy Haarhoff came on for Moss
and give The Blues width and a bit more
pace.Ruffer,once again having a super
game with Gaunt & Woods, tightened up at
the back and Ruscoe and Carden were winning
more of the midfield battles.
Southports frustation was starting to show as
the yellow cards started to flow.Marsh was
lucky to stay on the park after his two footed
"over the top tackle" on Matt Doughty,
for a player who had received an insurance
pay out for injury himself, this tackle was an
utter digrace.City had a couple of good
opportunities to win the game,both headers
from Steve Whitehall,the first header well
saved by Dickerson in the Visitors goal,the
second just the wrong side of the post.
Just as we thought"replay Tuesday night",
on 88 mins,Doughty's free kick was floated
in to the box and MATTY WOODS found himself
in a position he'd become used to over the
past few weeks,he hammered home from 10
yards,much to the delight of every one.
Barrow quickly substituted Whitehall &
Haarhoff,1-0 was enough, Darren Wright &
Andy Porter were brought on to hang on for
the final few minutes and that they did.
It was apparent to see how much this ment
to Graham Barrow and the lads on the final
whistle,with jubilant celebrations all
round.But it also has to be said this was
another mammoth battle against a very good
Conference side and City Vs Southport would of
been a fitting final.Chester now are only
one step away from Villa Park.
Teams,CHESTER;
Brown 7,Moss 7,Gaunt 7,*Ruffer 9*,Woods 8,
Doughty 7,Carden 8,Fisher 6,Ruscoe 8,
Whitehall 7,Beesley M 7.
SUBS:Haarhoff 7,Wright 6,Porter 6.

Southport;Dickerson,Lane,OBrien,Clark,Guyett,
Bolland,Marsh,Gouck,Arnold,Parke,Elam.
SUBS:Grayson,Maamria,Furlong.



FOOTBALL CONFERNCE
HAYES 1 CHESTER 3
Att;784, BeesleyM(38,63pen)
Quinn(61) Woods(77pen)

Chester were looking for their first
Conference away victory since a 2-0 win at
Scarboro back in October.City had enough
chances in the first half to wrap the game up.
Paul Beesley heading narrowly wide in the
first couple of mins,then Ruscoe found
himself with a free header after 10 mins,
this effort high of the crossbar as well.
Mark Beesley opened the scoring on 38 mins,
Ruscoes downward header & Beesley forcing
the ball over the line.Playing with a stong
wind behind them in the first half,
Chester were more than worth their 1-0 lead
at the break,considering Whitehall &
Haarhoff were both on the bench.
Gaunt was also having a better game
at the back.
HALF TIME;HAYES 0 CHESTER 1

Hayes started to get back in the game
after the break,their main threat being
veteran striker Jimmy Quinn.Quinn was unlucky
with two good headers just after the break.
A long range effort tested Phil Preistley
who made a fine save at the foot of his
right hand post.But it was Quinn that levelled
the scores after 61 mins,heading home a
Nyamah cross.Their joy was short lived though,
on 63 mins Mark Beesley picked up a
poor Goodliffe back pass & was brought
down by Hayes Keeper Gothard.
The Keeper recieved the Red Card &
Mark Beesley stepped up himself to
score from the spot kick past stand in
keeper Hodson.
12 mins later the game was over as a contest,
Stand in Keeper Hodson got himself into a
similar mess,tripping MATT WOODS as he tried
to round the keeper,this time Hodson was only
booked.With Beesley no longer on the park,
Woods stepped up & scored with a very
confident penalty,sending the keeper
the wrong.With Whitehall & Haarhoff now on the
field,City really should have won this game
by more,Haarhoff having yet another
good penalty appeal turnd down and
Whitehall shooting narrowly wide.
This wasn't a pretty game at all,but
with a weakened side a good three points
& confidence booster ahead of Saturdays
Cup Game at home to Southport.
(P.S The Ground was very poor but the
Burger bar was excellent.)

Teams CHESTER;
Preistly 7,Moss 7,Lancaster 7,Gaunt 7,
Beesley P 7,Doughty 7,Carden 7,Ruscoe 7,Fisher 6,
*Beesley M 8*,Woods 7.
SUBS:Haarhoff 7,Whitehall 7,Woodyatt 6.

HAYES;Gothard,Molesley,Watts,Sterling,Goodliffe,
Nyamah,Moore,Mckimm,Preston,
Quinn,Hodson.
SUBS:Telemaque,Hodson,Coppard.

FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
CHESTER 2 BOSTON 2 Att;1087
Woods(49)Weatherstone(58)
Doughty(84)Charlery(78,pen)

Match Report To Follow.
Teams,CHESTER;
*Preistley 8*,Moss 7,Beesley P 6,Gaunt 5,
Lancaster 7,Fisher 7,Carden 6,Haarhoff 7,Ruscoe 7,Beesley M 6,Woods 7.
SUBS;Doughty 8,Whitehall 8.

BOSTON:Bastock,Clifford,Lucas,Weatherstone R,
Howarth,Diaf,Weatherstone S,Charlery,Nuttell<
Cook,Raynor.
SUBS;Gowshall,Hoyle.

FA UMBRO TROPHY 5th Rd
CHESTER 4 BLYTH SPARTANS 2
Haarhoff(6) Perry(64)
Beesley M(23)Robson(67)
Beesley P(81)
Whitehall(90)
Att;1831.

City started off at a frantic pace making
their Unibold counterparts looking a very poor side.
The Blues took the lead as early as the 6th
minute when JIMMY HAARHOFF found space
inside the area,then comfortably slotting
home his second goal of the week past keeper
Burke.
Chester were unlucky not to go further ahead
when Ruscoes effort from the edge of the box
was well saved by the keeper.
MARK BEESLEY gave City a well deserved
second goal on 23 mins and really this
contest should of been over.Blyth dug deep
and started to muscle their way back into
the game.Their no nonsense approach towards
the end of the half signalled what was to come.
Blyth striker Robson was lucky only to
receive a Yellow card after pulling Wayne
Brown back after he attempted to throw the
ball out wide to Doughty,the keeper seemed
to damage his shoulder.But after
lengthy treatment was able to carry on.

HALF TIME ;CHESTER 2 BLYTH 0

Chester seemed to rest on what the had
achieved in the first half,sitting back and
letting the visitors push forward.
Blyth took full advantage of this,
On 64 mins Perry scored putting Blyth right
back in the game.Three mins later they
were on level terms,Robson chipping the
ball over the advancing Brown.
The tie seemed to slipping away from City.
But the time had come for Steve Whitehall to
return from injury.The game turned once
again,Whitehall was finding space and Chester
pushed forward once again.
On 81 Mins City gained a corner to Keeper
Burke's right,the ball dropped to
PAUL BEESLEY,who's half volley hit the
roof of the net,much to the Assistant Managers delight.Then STEVE WHITEHALL
himself wrapped the game up on 90 mins,
rounding the keeper and cleverly
chipping the ball over the defender
on the line(great to see him back!).
City certainly made hard work of what
seemed to be a fairly easy tie.

Team;
Brown 7,Fisher 7,Doughty 7,Gaunt 5,*Beesley P 7,
Lancaster 7,Carden 7,Haarhoff 7,Woods 6,Beesley M 7.
SUBS:*Whitehall 8*,Wright 6,Moss 6.

20/02/01,FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
CHESTER 1 TELFORD UTD 0
Woods(8)
Att;1361.
After a bright start were City went in to an
early lead with a 8 min header from MATT WOODS,
City failed to capitalise on plenty of
chances that fell their way in a very one
sided first half.Woods & Beesley caused
no end of problems for a very shaky
Telford defence.
HALF TIME;CHESTER 1 TELFORD 0
In the second half though a combination of
some poor challenges from Telford and a referee
called Robert Lewis,who brought the non
league Refereeing standards to an all time low.
One of his worst decisions,booking
Jimmy Haarhoff for diving when he should of
given a definate penalty.
Haarhoff later went off injured after
another awful tackle from defender Moore.
Telford were back in the game and another second
half nightmare had started.Telford were unlucky
not to get a share of the points at the end,
but City just about deserved the win as they
were just about the best of two poor sides.

Teams,CHESTER;
Brown 7,Fisher 7,Lancaster 7,*BEESLEY P 8*,
Gaunt 7,Doughty 7,Carden 7,Haarhoff 7,
Ruscoe 7,Beesley M 6,Woods 7.
SUBS;Moss 7.
TELFORD;Williams,Travis,Sandwith,Moore,Bentley,
Albrighton,McGorry,Jobling,
Martindale,Malkin,Palmer.
SUBS;Edwards,Fitzpatrick.


17/02/01,FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
NORTHWICH VICS 1 CHESTER 1
Blundell(65) Haarhoff(33)
Att;2651.
Chester played Cheshire rivals Northwich
in a league derby for the first time
in over 70 years.City were by far the better
of the two sides in a very scappy first half.
Haarhoff,Ruscoe & Beesley causing most of
the problems for the home side.
Haarhoff & Beesley had chances to open the
Blues account early on but Scott Ruscoe found
himself through on keeper Lance Key,
unfortuanatly his shot hitting the advancing keeper.
Chesters dominance didnt pay off till the 33rd
minute though,JIMMY HAARHOFF found plenty of space
down the left hand side,he cut inside and
his low shot beat Key,much to the delight
of City's large travelling army.
It was a thoroughly deserved lead & Haarhoffs
first goal for the Blues.

HALF TIME;NORTHWICH 0 CHESTER 1

City had to reshuffle at the start of the
second half,Carl Ruffer failed to
appear after half time and was
replaced by Darren Moss.
It seemed to have quite an effect on the
Visitors,who certainly were not as composed at
the back as the were in the first half.
Chester continued to give the ball away in midfield
as The Vics managed to claw thier way back into
the game,chances fell to both Ade Mike & Dean Walling.
But on 65 mins it was Walling who put
Greg Blundell through and the Ex Vauxhall
striker made no mistake(nice to think he
wanted to celebrate his goal with us rather than
with the few Home supporters who decided to
turn up,he'll be a favourite with the North Stand
when The Vics visit The Deva next
season,if they dont go down!!!).
But if Northwich had the better of the second half,
it was Chester that should of won the game
near the end,Haarhoff beating several defenders
and squareing the ball to Mark Beesley,
with Key and his defence beaten Beesley hit
the post.That was the last real chance of the
game and City just had to add to thier growing
tally of draws,but on reflection our growing
injury list is probably starting to tell.
With Ruffer & Doughty going off today the squad
is now down to the bare bones and for us to
mount an attack on promotion next season
a bit of strength in depth may be needed.

FULL TIME;NORTHWICH 1 CHESTER 1

Teams,Chester;
Brown 6,Fisher 7,Lancaster 7,Ruffer 7,
*Beesley P 8*,Doughty 6,Carden 7,Haarhoff 7,
Ruscoe 7,Woods 6,Beesley M 6.
SUBS:Moss 6,Gaunt 6.

Northwich;
Key,Bates,Davis,TalbotBurke,Bernard,
Norris,Devlin,Fletcher,Mike,Blundell.
SUBS:Walling,Simpson






10/02/01,FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
CHESTER 2 YEOVIL 1
Ruscoe(17), Bent(85)
Beesley M(32)
Att;2250.
Chester took all three points against the league
leaders at The Deva.City won the game
in the first half and were unlucky not
to go in at half time by a much bigger margin.
But the first real chance fell to the visitors,
Belgrave putting Smith through in the
early stages with Wayne Brown making a
confident save from the edge of the area.
That signalled the start of Citys on slaught,
make shift centre forward Matt Woods unlucky
with a volley after some sloppy defending.
It was hard to believe that The Blues were missing
4 key players.Fisher was dominating the midfield
movement and the three front runners
Beesley,Haarhoff & Ruscoe were a
constant threat.It was SCOTT RUSCOE who opened
the scoring on 17 mins with a superb left
foot effort from just outside the area,
beating the outstretched arm of Keeper Pennock.
City had several more chances to increase their
lead but good defending and keeper Tony Pennock
in the Yeovil goal keeping them in the game.
On 32 mins though a defensive mix up between Smith
& Way let in MARK BEESLEY who rounded the
keeper and scored from the tightest of angles.
City were well and truly in the driving seat.
Haarhoff took on the Yeovil defence and slid the
ball through to Ruscoe,who found himself one
on one with Pennock,this time the keeper saving well.
Just before half time Mark Beesley
found himself in space in the penalty box,
he was brought down and a sure penalty wasn't
given.Matt Woods was unlucky not to get on
the score sheet right on half time ,
Pennock once again saving well.
This was certainly one of the best halves seen
at The Deva for a long while.

HALF TIME:CHESTER 2 YEOVIL 0

City carried on were they left off in the
second period,another good run from Haarhoff
found Matt Woods with space,his shot beating
the keeper and rattling the cross bar.
After that though it became a more even contest.
The visitors pushing forward,Wayne Brown coming
more and more into the game.
Brown making good saves from Crittenden and
Glenn Poole.Yeovil introduced James Bent as
substitute for Barrington Belgrave,
who hit a thundering drive from just outside the
box but luckily for Brown hitting the post.
City defended well in this period and once
again Carl Ruffer was outstanding.Yeovil found
a glimmer of hope after 85 mins as a corner
seemed to deflect of Bent and trickled past Brown.
The Glovers were now back in a game that should
of been dead and buried.But the goal was about the
last awkward situation City had to deal with,
even though there was a sigh of relief around
the ground at the end.On the first half
performance alone Chester were worth the 3 points.
If only some of our drawn games had been turned
into wins,who knows we could of returned to
league football sooner than we thought!.
Team;Brown 7,Fisher 8,Lancaster 8,*Ruffer 9*,
Beesley P 8,Doughty 8,Haarhoff 8,Blackburn 6,
Ruscoe 8,Woods 8,Beesley M 8.
SUBS;Wright 7,Woodyatt 6.

Yeovil;Pennock,Piper,Betts,Skiverton,White,
Way,Belgrave,Smith,Patmore,Crittenden,Poole.
SUBS;Bent,Lindegaard,Thompson.

3/02/01,FA UMBRO TROPHY 4th Rd
CHESTER 3 St ALBANS 2
Ruffer(13) Simba(25,89)
Ruscoe (55)
Blackburn(77)
Att,1442.

City progressed through to the last 16 of the
Umbro Trophy.Carl Ruffer opened the scoring
on 13 mins,converting a free kick from close range.
Chester had plenty of opportunities
to finish off their Ryman League opponents
in the first half but failed to do so.the best
chance falling to Scott Ruscoe who's right
foot effort brought a brilliant save from
Richard Hurst in the St Albans goal.City paid
for their inability to score after 25 mins,when
ex Orient striker Amara Simba headed home after a rare
Wayne Brown mistake.Somehow The Saints
went in at half time on level terms and still
in the game!.
HALF TIME CHESTER1 St ALBANS 1
Chester had certainly missed top striker
Steve Whitehall as they had at Vale Park on Tues
night,but Jimmy Haarhoff playing is first
full game played a big part in Chesters victory
in the second half.Chester went back in front
though after 55 mins,Matty Doughty provided
the cross & SCOTT RUSCOE heading home from 12 yds,
it was no more than City deserved.
Jimmy Haarhoff came close to his first goal for
his new club after keeper Hurst dropped a shot
and the little striker hit the left hand post.
We didnt have to wait much longer for the
third ,Haarhoff once again turning the
St Albans defence inside out with another of
his mazy runs,then sending CHRIS BLACKBURN clear
on 77 mins,beating Hurst with ease.With the game
now over Chester stepped down a gear but
where still by far the better of the two sides.
St Albans were down to 10 men for the last few
mins of the tie after Centre back Ryan Moran
sent off for a terrible tackle on
Matt Doughty,the young left back was
lucky not to have broken his leg,theres certainly
not a place in the modern game for a brain dead
idiot like Moran & a one match ban won't be
good enough for this offence.Simba scored a late consilation goal for the visitors,
which flattered them,because they were a poor
side and with Whitehall in the side this game
would have been over at half time.
FULL TIME CHESTER 3 St ALBANS 2.
Team;Brown 6,Fisher 7,Lancaster 7,Ruffer 7,
Beesley P6,Doughty 7,Carden 6,Blackburn 6,
*Ruscoe 8*,Haarhoff 8,Beesley M 6.
SUB;Woodyatt 6.


30/01/01.LDV VAN TROPHY.
PORT VALE 2 CHESTER CITY 0
Doughty (og)21
Naylor 65
Att 2500

Chester,the only remaining Conference side
in the competition, went out of the LDV Van
Trophy at Vale Park.City didnt seem to come to
terms with a very muddy pitch & the absense
of Steve Whitehall with a rib injury.Ex City
player Alex Smith was a constant threat with
his probeing runs down the left & it was on 21 mins for the opening goal of the night.
Darren Wright had a good opportunity shortly after that to equalise.
HALF TIME VALE 1 CHESTER 0
City played better in the second half With both
Mark Beesley & Ruffer bringing the best out
of Vale keeper Mark Goodlad,but on 65 mins
Brammer robbed the ball after a Paul Beesley
mistake & Tony Naylor scored from short
range.There was to be no repeat of our last
two visits.
FULL TIME VALE 2 CHESTER 0
Team;Brown 7,Fisher 6,Beesley 6,Woods 6,Lancaster 7,
Doughty 6,Carden 7,Blackburn 5,Ruffer 6,Wright 6,
Beesley M 6.
SUBS;Ruscoe 6,Haarhoff 5,Moss 5.

27/01/01.CONFERENCE.
CHESTER CITY 1 MORECAMBE 0
Lancaster (13)
Sent off;Carden(71)Black (88)
Att:1717
In a very uneventful first half,City managed
to gain all three points.After only 13 mins
Steve Whitehall headed goalwards from a Neil Fisher
corner,from the rebound MARTIN LANCASTER's
left foot shot found the back of
the net.Most of the half became a midfield
tussle,with Ex Bolton winger Dave Lee looking
the most productive player on the park.
Our next effort on goal came just after
the 1/2 hour mark,when two tame efforts
from Whitehall were saved well by the
Morecambe keeper.

HALF TIME;CHESTER 1 MORECAMBE 0

The second half was a totally different game,
enter Referee Mr Penn.The tackles started
to fly in,most of which he missed,
But as in the first half the work rate
from both sides was good but both keepers
had very little to do.After 68 mins Carden was
booked for a high challenge on Drummond,
moments later was given a Red Card for
a similar challenge.Woods & Whitehall also
collected yellows as tempers frayed.
City were never under any great pressure
with a man short and Refferee Penn
equaled things up on 88 mins when Morecambes "Zico" Black was sent off for a
second bookable offence.A good battle in the
second half and three more points.
Team;CHESTER.
Brown 8,Fisher 6,*Lancaster 8*,Beesley P 7,Woods 7,
Doughty 7,Carden 7,Blackburn 7,Ruscoe 6,
Beesley M 6,Whitehall 7.
Subs;Wright 6,Haarhoff 7,Woodyatt 6.


13/01/01.FA UMBRO TROPHY,3rd RD.
CHESTER CITY 2 DONCASTER ROV 0
Whitehall 2.(29,35)
Att;1479
Chester got back to winning ways on saturday,
thanks to a fine first half display
against in form Doncaster.City had the best
of the first half,with plenty of chances.
The best of them falling to Ruscoe & Ruffer
only to find Ex Lincoln Keeper equal to them ,
making a fabulous save from the Ruffer effort.
I'd just commented that this keeper always
plays well against us,when he came out and totally
miss kicked a poor through ball from Andy Porter
and who else would be on hand to put the ball
into an empty net,getting his 12th goal of the
season was STEVE WHITEHALL on 29 mins.
We didnt have to wait for the second either.
Mark Beesley found space on the left hand side
& with a perfect cross found that man WHITEHALL,
who put his header to the left of Richardson
on 35 mins.Doncaster did come into the game
towards the end of the half,Whitmore going close
just before half time.

HALF TIME CHESTER 2 DONCASTER 0.

Doncaster came out after the break the much
brighter of the 2 sides,but all City had to do
was just hold on to what they had got.
They certainly did that,the defensive unit held
together well,with Ruffer,Beesley & Lancaster
dealing with everything the opposition
threw at them.The main threat as it was at
Belle View a couple of weeks ago,was coming from
Tristram Whitmore,hitting a volley just over
Browns cross bar,Wayne Brown also made a
couple of good saves in the middle of the half.
Ruffer & Brown also picked up bookings for their
part in a 20 man brawl towards the end.
The Yorkshiremens threat started to fizzle out towards
the end of the game & City's Cup form just
seems to go on and on.It's just a shame
these cup wins can't be turned into league wins,
then perhaps we could challenge the likes of
Yeovil & Rushden for that top spot.
Team,CHESTER;
Brown 7,Moss 7,Lancaster 7,Ruffer 7,Beesley P 7,
Ruscoe 6,Carden 7,Porter 7,Blackburn 7,Beesley M 6,*WHITEHALL 8*.
SUBS;Woods 6,Woodyatt 6.


06/01/01.FA CUP 3rd Round.
BLACKBURN ROVERS 2 CHESTER CITY 0
Taylor(72)
Bent(84)
Att;15,223

City's FA Cup dream came to an end thanks to Referee
Steve Baines,who disallowed a perfectly good goal
from Steve Whitehall on 68 mins.
Chester were as good as if not better than
their Div 1 counterparts in the early parts of
the game,Fisher creating a good opportunity for Steve
Whitehall who couldn't connect with his cross.
Matty Doughty was giving McAteer a torrid time
down the left beating him for pace on several occasions.
Carden had an early chance but a tame
shot fell easy for Freidal.Blackburns first
chance fell to Jansen,but Carl Ruffer
cleared from the six yard box.Ruffer looked
very comfortable playing against 1st Division
opponents,his timing with tackles & Headers was
first class,his distribution from
the back second to non.Matt Doughty once again
got the better of McAteer down the left
and once again Whitehall couldn't connect with
his cross.Hignett came the closest to scoring
for the home side,hitting Browns right hand post
with a shot from outside the box.Chester had a
couple of good chances before the break,one super effort from Whitehall just high of the crossbar.
Wayne Brown was brought into action just
before half time,making good saves from Jansen & Dunning.

HALF TIME;BLACKBURN 0 CHESTER 0

Blackburn started the half much brighter in the
second half Ostenstad bringing a fine save out of
Wayne Brown.Chester got back into their stride
and started to mount a number of good attacks.
Whitehall again being the main threat,
heading a Porter cross just over Freidals bar.
Mark Beesley had a good chance as well,
but failed to hit the target.Andy Porter also stretched
Freidal in this period with a long range effort.
Then on 68 mins came the moment we had all
been waiting for,Neil Fisher crossed Paul Beesley
winning the header above Taylor and
Stevie Whitehall on hand to score from the knock
down.It was just what we deserved,only to see
referee Baines deciding to give a free kick
against Beesley for a push on Taylor.This idiot
was probably the only person inside Ewood Park
who didnt think it was a goal.This incident
changed the course of the game,and here's
me thinking all the SH*T referees were in
the lower leagues.
Unfortunately,while our lads were getting their
heads round this decision,5 mins later Taylor
headed home Alan Mahon's cross,totally
knocking the stuffing out of players and
fans alike.City were not finished yet though,
Beesley went one on one with Freidal only to see
his effort go agonisingly past the keepers right
hand post,then substitute Darren Wright heading
from close range,only to see Freidal make a
brilliant save.As City pushed forward though,
the odd gap was appearing at the back and on
84 mins Carden gave a free kick away on the touch
line,from the resulting free kick sub Marcus Bent
scored with a towering header ,
giving Wayne Brown no chance.Chester kept plugging
away and deserved a consilation goal as they
pinned back the 1st Division side for the last
5 minutes or so.But it wasn't to be,the lads
& the travelling 4000 or so had given everything.
They say thet sometimes you need a little luck
in football,but their is no justice when
officials are so inconsistant,one decision in the
68th minute cost City dearly,if not a place
in the next round,at least a chance of a replay.
Ruffer was brilliant along side Lancaster and
Beesley and certainly didn't look out of place in
this company.Carden ,Fisher & Porter gave the
Blackburn midfield more than a run for their
money,Whitehall& Mark Beesley were a constant
threat all afternoon.Well done lads you did us
all proud.As for the Blue & White Army,
Brilliant as they always are on these big occasions,
lets hope weve won over a few more regulars
to the Conference ranks after this.(PS,Could you
hear the Blackburn sing?not exactly a Premier
league crowd in this wonderful stadium
are they??).

TEAMS,CHESTER;
Brown 7,Fisher 7,Lancaster 8,*RUFFER 9*,Beesley P 8,
Doughty 8,Carden 8,Porter 7,Blackburn 7,Beesley M 7,Whitehall 8.
SUBS;Wright 7,Moss 8,Woods 7.

BLACKBURN;*Freidal 8*,Curtis 7,McAteer 6,Bjornebye 7,
Dunn 7,Hignett 6,Jansen 7,Ostenstad 5,Mahon 7,
Dunning 7,Taylor 8.
SUBS;Hughes 7,Bent 8,Douglas 6.



01/01/2001,CONFERENCE.
HEREFORD UTD 2 CHESTER 0
Lane (54pen),
Elmes (56).
Att 2321.
Due to Citys postponed game Vs Telford on the 30/12/00,
the Blues ended up with back to back games
with Conference form side Hereford,City winning
the first,but coming out second best at Edgar Streets
Ploughed field.Chester held their own in
first half without creating too much.
Hereford certainly looked at home on the pitch and
were probably unlucky to go in at half time on level terms.

HALF TIME;HEREFORD 0 CHESTER 0.

Right on the stroke of half time Mark Beesley came off
with a hamstring injury,to be replaced by Darren Moss
making a rare appearance & as at Kingstonian
had his customary rush of blood,up ended
the Hereford player just inside the box,LANE
coverted the penalty with ease on 54 mins.Until
that moment City looked like they may get a
draw out of this game.But it wasn't to be,2mins
later Elmes headed home between Brown and
his left hand post.Citys only chance of the half
went to Whitehall,who blazed his free kick
high and wide.Lets just hope this was down to a
very poor playing surface,a few New Year Drinks
and the FA Cup jitters!!.

FULL TIME ;HEREFORD 2 CHESTER 0.

Team,Chester;Brown 6,Fisher 6,Beesley P6,Ruffer 7,
Lancaster 6,Doughty 6,*Carden 7*Blackburn 6,
Ruscoe 5,Beesley M 6,Whitehall 6.
SUBS:Moss 5,


26/12/00,CONFERENCE.
CHESTER 2 HEREFORD 1.
Beesley(26)-Lane(79pen)
Whitehall(85)
Att;2244.

Chester finally came to life over Xmas mainly
due to Herefords cavalier approach,as they made
City fight very hard for these three points
& were very unlucky not to get a point from this game.
It was just a touch of magic from Steve
Whitehall that sealed all three points for
the Blues though.Chester certainly started the
better of the two sides and were by far the
best side in the first half.MARK BEESLEY opened
the scoring on 26 mins.Whitehall making amends for
an earlier miss laid on the perfect ball for
his striking partner who made no mistake
with atight angled drive passed Ex Shrewsbury
keeper Cooksey.City had several chances
before the break,noteably from Chris Blackburn
and Man Of The Match Carl Ruffer,who's volley was
just the wrong side of the crossbar.

HALF TIME;CHESTER 1 HEREFORD 0

Hereford made two changes at half time,James Wall came
on at the back to vastly improve a very wobbly
defence & Rob Elmes came on up front,to give
Beesley,Ruffer and Co a contest.Hereford spent
long periods camped out in the Chester half,
As City had to resort to hitting the ball far and
wide on many occasions.Herefords pressure
finally paid off after 79 mins as Wayne Brown
challenged MICHEAL McINDOE,who decided
to go to ground like he'd been shot.The penalty
awarded and Full back Chris Lane made no mistake,
but to be fair The Bulls were worth the equaliser.
Their joy was short lived though, as it was
time for STEVE WHITEHALL to supply his Xmas Cracker
.Surrounded by Hereford defenders,
Whitehall turned and chipped Cooksey from outside
the box and inch perfect between keeper and
cross bar & he produced one of the best goals seen
at the Deva,much to the delight of the City
faithful.There were one or two scares towards
the end as WAYNE BROWN joined in the party
with two excellent saves from McIndoe & Elmes.
This was just the type of game we needed as
the Blackburn game approaches and lets hope
Steve Whitehall has another cracker in his bag
of tricks ready for the big day.

FULL TIME;CHESTER 2 HEREFORD 1

Teams;
CHESTER;Brown 8,Fisher 7,Lancaster 7,Beesley P 8,*RUFFER 9*,Doughty 6,Carden 7Blackburn 7,Ruscoe 7,Whitehall 8,Beesley M 8.
SUBS:Wright 7.

HEREFORD;Cooksey,Lane,Sturgess,Robinson,Wright,
Gardiner,Clarke,Rodgerson,Giddings,Williams,McIndoe.
SUBS:Wall,Elmes.

23/12/00,CONFERENCE.
CHESTER 0 HAYES 0
Att;1600

Obviously City have started the Xmas partys already
after this dismal display against a very poor Hayes side.
On a bitter afternoon at The Deva ,all
we needed was this awful non event.Our finishing
was non exsistant in the first half except for
the Hayes defender who hit his own post.Apart
from Ruffer,Carden& Whitehall their were some
below par performances today.Noteably Gaunt,Doughty,
Mark Beesley & Neil Fisher to name but a few.
HALF TIME; CHESTER 0 HAYES 0

The second half was a bit better,but Hayes certainly
give as good as they got.They managed one or two
good efforts,As for City Steve Whitehall
was the main threat,but as in recent games he
has little if no support at times.Whitehall had
one good effort well saved by Hayes keeper
Hodson.Paul Carden also brought the best out of
Hodson once again moments later.The game
finished the way it started leaving the away
side delighted with their afternoons work.
City look like remaining in the Conference at
least for another season if the Xmas performances
dont improve!.

FULL TIME;CHESTER 0 HAYES 0

Teams,CHESTER;
Brown 6,Fisher 5,Lancaster 6,*Ruffer 7*,Gaunt 4,
Doughty 5,Carden 7,Porter 6,Blackburn 6,
Whitehall 7,Beesley M 5.
SUBS:Ruscoe 6,Wright 6.



18/12/00,N/WIDE TROPHY 2nd Round.
HEDNESFORD 1 CHESTER 3 (aet)
Russell(48) Ruffer(74)
Att;147 Woods (105)Carden(117)

Chesters side was made up from fringe players
& regulars for this non event competition.Wayne Brown
was missing in goal,giving trialist Micheal
Price a chance to shine in goal.Steve Whitehall,Martin Lancaster & Chris Blackburn also made way.
Darren Moss made a rare appearance,with
Wright & Ruscoe playing the full game.
The first half was pretty mediocre,
but just after half time the game came to life.
STUART LAKEs free kick hit the bar and KEITH RUSSELL
was first to react on 48 mins,putting
the home side in front.City had to wait until
74 mins to get back on level terms,
CARL RUFFER hitting a long range cracker!.
Towards the end of the 90 mins,substitute
makeshift striker Matt Woods should of
put City through but missing his chance.
Chester lost keeper Price for extra time,with
16 yr old trainee Louis Macken replacing him.
Chester finally finished off their Staffordshire
opponents in this period,MATTY WOODS
beating Keepre Gayle on 105mins
and PAUL CARDEN firing home on 117 mins on his
return from suspension.City now face Southport
in the quarter finals.

TEAM:Price,Moss,Fisher,Gaunt,Ruffer,Beesley P,
Carden,Porter,Ruscoe,Beesley M,Wright.
SUBS:Woods,Kerr,Macken.(Lancaster,Berry)



16/12/00,FOOTBALL CONFERENCE.
DONCASTER 1 CHESTER 0
McIntyre(2)
Att;2553.
Chester suffered from an FA Cup hangover at a very cold
Belle view on Saturday and our unbeaten run came to an end.
Paul Carden was missing from midfield
& Carl Ruffer was moved into midfield to fill the
suspended players place.Doncaster started the much brighter of the two sides and were in front after only
2 mins.Kevin McIntyre capitalising on
a defensive error.Chester had there fair share of
the chances in the first half, exceptional
efforts from Steve Whitehall,Carl Ruffer
& Andy Porter only to find ex Lincoln Keeper
Barry Richardson in top form in the Doncaster
goal.
HALF TIME;Doncaster 1 Chester 0.

The second half was a different story,Doncaster looked
the better side and were unlucky not to stretch
their lead on several occasions.The home
side hitting the cross bar on two occasions
and Tristram Whitmore seeing his effort
ruled offside.Whitehall was Chesters main threat
with another fine performance but needs
a little support up front,Beesley having another
below par game.It was Whitehall himself who nearly
rescued a point late on,only to Richardson
once again equal to it.I think its fair to
say The Blues were due an off day and that the
feet are firmly back on the ground for the Xmas
programme after last weeks celebrations!

FULL TIME;DONCASTER 1 CHESTER 0.

Teams;Chester.
Brown 6,Fisher 7,Lancaster 7,Beesley P 7,Gaunt 6,
Doughty 5,Porter 6,Ruffer 7,Blackburn 5,*Whitehall 8*,Beesley M 6.
SUBS:Woods 6,Wright 6,Ruscoe 7.

Doncaster;Richardson,Marples,Hawkins,Kelly,Miller,
Ryan,Caudwell,Atkins,Turner,Whitman,Walling.
SUBS:Campbell.

9/12/00,FA CUP 2nd ROUND;
CHESTER 3 OXFORD UTD 2.
Beesley P(35) Gray(23)
Whitehall(54,60) Murphy(25)
Att;2798

Chester went through to the 3rd Round of the
FA CUP & deservedly so.This was a classic cup tie,
with City starting the brighter with early
efforts from Carden and Neil Fisher.But it was Oxford
who came closest to scoring when Phil Gray hit
the bar after 15mins.It was GRAY who opened
the scoring though after 23 mins when he fired home a
cross from Hackett.Two minutes later
Hackett was once again the provider and MATT MURPHY
made no mistake with his close range header.
The Blues were by no means dead and buried
with both Porter & Carl Ruffer going close.
City got the lifeline they deserved though,
Neil Fisher sending in the cross & Centre Back
PAUL BEESLEY heading home on 35 mins.
This was just what Chester needed & Oxford knew
they were in for a torrid time in the second
half.

HALF TIME,CHESTER 1 OXFORD 2.

City came out in the 2nd half with all guns blazing
looking for that elusive equaliser,Mark Beesley
unlucky on two occasions.Chester didnt have to
wait long for the break through as Oxford Keeper
Richard Knight came out and dropped his
catch leaving STEVIE WHITEHALL to shot home on
54 mins.Six minutes later The Deva erupted as
WHITEHALL latched on to a Andy Porter through
ball and sweetly chipped the keeper from just
inside the box.City could have won
by a bigger score line when Porter once again sent
Blackburn through only to see Andy Linighan
make a last ditch tackle.This was another famous
victory as another league side tumbled against
Barrows Conference boys & the manager was
delighted with the afternoons work,
Graham Barrow said after the game"I was proud
of everyone of my players,they showed a spirit
and endeavour that was acredit to them.This
victory has restored some pride in the club
that we seemed to lose after being relegated
from the Football League last Season".

FULL TIME
Teams;CHESTER,
Brown 7,Fisher 8,Lancaster 7,Beesley P 8,Ruffer 8,
Doughty 8,Carden 9,Porter 9,Blackburn 7,
*WHITEHALL 10*,Beesley M 7.
SUBS:Wright 7,Ruscoe 7.





5/12/00,LDV VANS TROPHY;
CHESTER 1 HULL CITY 0
Carden (51)
Att;770.

Chester managed to take the second league scalp in
a week last night at the Deva.
Hull City were the opponents and only 770 turned
up to see one of our best displays of the
season.The defending was vastly improved from
the weekend,with the inclusion of Craig
Gaunt back in the side after injury.Chester were by
far the better of the sides in the first half
with Whitehall a constant threat all night.
He was unlucky not to put City in
front,from a through ball he chipped Musslewhite
only to see the ball drop the wrong
side of the post.Scott Ruscoe started the game
and fitted in well along side Whitehall.
Hulls only noticable chance in the first half came from
Wood but Wayne Brown saved well.
HALF TIME;CHESTER 0 HULL CITY 0.

The Blues came out and carried on were they left off
in the second half and were soon rewarded
with a goal on 51 mins.Whitehall put PAUL CARDEN
through and the midfielder beat Musslewhite
with a fine strike.It was Carden
10 mins later who was close to extending Citys lead,Musslewhite this time equal to it.
Whitehall had two good efforts well saved by the
keeper,firstly a shot from outside the area
and secondly a free kick from all of 30yds,
which he curled round the wall only to see
Musslewhite save down at the right post.
Hull did put together a bit of pressure towards the
when Doughty cleared off the line,but by then City should of been comfortably in front.
City totally dominated a side from the top half of
Div 3 and must be confident for saturdays
FA Cup Tie Vs Oxford Utd.

Team;Brown 7,Fisher 8,Gaunt 8,Ruffer 8,Lancaster 7,
Doughty 7,Carden 7,Porter 7,Blackburn 7,*Whitehall 9*,Ruscoe 7.
SUBS:Woods 7,Wright 7.

2/12/00;CONFERENCE.
CHESTER 3 WOKING 3.
Fisher(7)Randall (23)
Whitehall(35)Steele(32,41pen)
Porter(65pen)
Att;1694.

City just about held on to there unbeaten record
against Woking.The visitors were unlucky not to
take the lead in the first 5 mins when Steve
Whitehall seemed to punch a goal bound header
off the line,every one seen it except the
linesman & referee.To make it worse for Woking
Chester went straight up the park and scored
at the other end thanks to NEIL FISHER(7 mins).
There were plenty of chances at both ends mainly
due to poor defending.Martin RANDALL finally
equalised for Woking on 23 mins after nutmegging
Lancaster then slotting the ball past Brown.
Woking then took the lead on 32 mins when the
impressive SCOTT STEELE beat Lancaster who was having
torid time at the back and chipping Wayne Brown.
There lead was short lived as STEVE WHITEHALL
scored with a special from outside
the area on 35 mins.Woking went in at half time
3-2 up thanks once again to STEELE who scored from the
penalty spot on 41 mins.

HALF TIME:CHESTER 2 WOKING 3.

City had to wait until the 65th min before they
were back on level terms,Whitehall found the
space behind the Woking defence,only to be
flattened by Keeper Mattassa.ANDY PORTER made no
mistake from the spot.Both sides had opportunities
to win the game,Randall hitting the post
for the visitors and both Whitehall and Ruscoe
going close for City.
In the end both teams will probably be happy with
this result and the fans who made the effort
to come and support there local side,certainly
got there moneys worth.Citys defensive
problems were mostly due to the suspension
of Paul Beesley,who misses his second game
against Hull on tuesday,but thank god he's back
for the Oxford cup tie next saturday.

TEAMS,CHESTER:
Brown 6,Lancaster 5,Woods 6,Ruffer 7,Fisher 7,Doughty 6,Carden 7,Porter 7,Blackburn 5,*Whitehall*8,Beesley M 6.
SUBS:Wright 6,Ruscoe 7,Gaunt 6.

WOKING:Matassa,Wye,Hollingdale,West,Smith,Kadi,
Perkins,Roddis,Steele,Randall,Griffin.
Subs:Drewitt,Teague.


28/11/00;FA CUP 1ST Round Replay.
PLYMOUTH 1 CHESTER 2(aet)
McGregor(73),Whitehall(42)Ruscoe(115).
Att3,264.

After the last few seasons City were due
a night like this.The couple of hundred
made the long trip down to Devon were treated
to one of the better nights in our clubs
history.
WAYNE BROWN was in brilliant form making
6 or 7 breathtaking saves and at the other
end Whitehall seemed to be everywhere.
WHITEHALL had two early opportunities well
saved by keeper Hodges,one a free kick and the
other on the volley.
But it was McGregor who looked set to score
until Carl Ruffer made a superb tackle inside
his own box ,then Taylors header was headed off
the line by Whitehall on the 1/2 hour mark.
Wayne BROWN made a super stop 5 mins before 1/2
time,from Steve Guinan.Then on 42 mins City
took the lead Carden providing the cross,a
couple of Argyle defenders missing the cross,
Then the ball fell kindly for STEVE WHITEHALL
who made no mistake on the edge of the 6 yard
box,the travelling faithful were ecstatic and
made the journey much sweeter.
HALF TIME PLYMOUTH 0 CHESTER 1.
Whether City had decided to hang on to there slim
lead or Argyle had stepped up a gear
we were'nt sure,but after a string of fine saves from Wayne BROWN on 73 mins Plymouth were on
level terms,as McGregor finally beat Brown.
Chester seemed to regroup and got back into the
game and the home side onslaught didnt happen,in
fact City were unlucky not to win the tie in
normal time with a chance falling to Mark Beesley.
So it was the dreaded extra time .Off went Fisher
& Steve Whitehall and on came Wright

& Ruscoe,we knew there was a nother goal in
this game for us,because everytime RUSCOE comes
on as sub we score.BROWN was still at his Brilliant
best,gathering all the crosses and
shots the home side threw at him,one save
from Wills was out of this world ,it seemed to
finish Argyle off.Then on 115 mins Porter put
super sub SCOTT RUSCOE through ,he went on a run
past defender and Keeper Hodges ,then from
the tightest of angles slipped the ball home
owith his right foot,sending the drummers,supporters
Players and management wild.
City played the final 5 mins out with
great composier,and earned a victory our club
has been waiting for,for a long while.There were
superb celebrations on the final whistle,and it
certainly made the long trip home well worth while.
WELL DONE LADS!Brilliant Effort.

PLYMOUTH 1 CHESTER 2(AET)

TEAMS;Chester,
*Brown 9*,Fisher 7,Lancaster 7,Beesley P 8,Ruffer 8,
Doughty 7,Carden 8,Porter 8,Blackburn 7,Whitehall 8,
Beesley P 7.
Subs;Wright 6,Woods 7,Ruscoe 7.

PLYMOUTH;Hodges,Fleming,Beswetherick,Wotton,Taylor,
Phillips,Barlow,Leadbitter,Peake,Guinan,McGregor.
SUBS:Stonebridge,Gritten,Wills.


18/11/00;FA CUP 1st ROUND.
CHESTER 1 PLYMOUTH 1.
Att,2380,
Wright(78),Peake(90).
CHESTER entertained the 1st league club at The Deva since relegation last season.
City had just about the better of the 1st half exchanges,but Plymouth having the best clear cut chance,only to see the efford high & wide over WAYNE BROWNS left hand post.
Chester did have a succession of corners but John Hodges coped well on all occasions.

HALF TIME:Chester 0 Plymouth 0

The second half was quite different,a typical cup tie,plenty of scoring opportunities & tackles flying in etc.Plymouth defended well as City pinned them back for long periods,but looked dangerous on the counter attack Paul McGregor causing most of the problems.Early on in the half Plymouth were down to 10 men.But it wasnt until the 78th min that Chester took advantage of this.STEVE WHITEHALL took a free kick from outside the area ,keeper Hodges managed only to parry the shot and Substitute DARREN WRIGHT helped the ball over the line.A lead City deserved.
Whitehall was unlucky a little later ,his left foot shot from 20 yds well saved by Hodges.
Unfortunately things then started to go wrong for City as The Pilgrims pressed for an equaliser.
Firstly,Paul Beesley was sent off for a second yellow card.Then as Plymouth pressed city gave away a free kick on the edge of the area in a central position.Ex Rochdale Man JASON PEAKE who had just come on as a substitute hit an unstoppable left foot free kick into Browns right hand top corner,much to the relief of the Plymouth faithful.
After all Chesters early work in the end they were lucky to still be in the cup as Brown made a super save late on only to see the rebound driven wide.
So now City have the long jouney south for the replay on Tues 28/11/00,but certainly have nothing to fear from the opposition ,who were a very ordinary 3rd Div side.

TEAMS:Brown 7,Lancaster 7,*Ruffer 8*,Beesley P 7,
Fisher 7,Doughty 7,Carden 7,Blackburn 6,Porter 7,
Beesley M 6,Whitehall 7.
SUBS USED:Wright 7,Ruscoe 6,Gaunt 6.




11/11/00CONFERENCE LEAGUE.
CHESTER 1 STEVENAGE 1
Att;1750,Beesley M(46) Armstrong(72)
Stevenage must of thought Xmas has come early,thanks to City,s inability to finish off teams.Steve Whitehall failed a fitness test,which didnt help the cause & highlighted our main weakness that were a bit thin on the ground when it comes to strikers .
CHESTER should have been 3 or 4-0 up by the time Stevenage actually managed a shot on goal,which ended up in the back of the net!!.
The first clear cut chance in the first half went begging as Darren Wright sent his effort skywards from the edge of the 6yd box.Stevenage,s chances were limited but a miss hit clearance by Carl Ruffer gave them the opportunity to take the lead but WAYNE BROWN was equal to it on this occasion.
HALF TIME:CHESTER 0 STEVENAGE 0.
CITY were much better in the second half probably due to the crazy mix up between Stevenage defender Mark Smith and keeper Paul Wilkerson gifting The Blues with an early 2nd half lead.
Wilkerson came for the cross,collided with Smith and MARK BEESLEY was left to put the ball into the empty net(46mins).CHESTER had there opponents pinned back for a long while as chance after chance went by.Keeper Wilkerson more than making up for his earlier mistake,He was exposed on more than one occasion by a very shaky defence & made fine saves from both Beesley & Wright.
But as expected,the inevitable happened,one breakaway & PAUL ARMSTRONG found himself with acres of room inside the Chester box & made no mistake from 12 yds on 72 mins.
Stevenage were more than happy with 1 point from this game and spent the last 18 mins defending deeply.Scott Ruscoe came on as a substitue towards the end & linked up well with Matt Doughty on the left,DOUGHTY hitting a right foot shot from 25yds,only to see PAUL WILKERSON make the save of the match tipping the ball over the bar.
Unfotunatly ,CITY had to settle for 1 point again,both fans and players will be bitterly disappointed with the result,but still remain unbeaten in 12 games,which happens to be the best in The Conference this season.But too many of this sequence have been draws,which is'nt good enough to pose a serious threat to the top clubs.
FULL TIME:CHESTER 1 STEVENAGE 1.
TEAMS;Brown 7,Fisher 7,Woods 7,Ruffer 7,Beesley P 7,
Doughty 7,Carden 7,Porter 7,Blackburn 6,Wright 6,*Beesley M 8*.
SUBS;Ruscoe 7.

STEVENAGE:Wilkerson,Kirby,Trott,Smith,Bunce,Metcalfe
Martin,McMahon,Armstrong,Clarke,Hay.
Subs Used;Illman,Leadbeater,Miller.


4/11/00,CONFERENCE LEAGUE.
DAGENHAM & RED 1 CHESTER 1
Att 1244,Shipp(72) Porter(87)

This was the type of game you would expect from
two teams close to the leading pack.
A stalemate until diabolical refereeing took its toll with 20 mins to go.
City had plenty of possesion in the first half with no end product.
The two best chances of the half both fell to STEVE WHITEHALL,first he curled a free kick around the wall only to see Dagenham keeper TONY ROBERTS make a fine one handed save.The second he had the ball in the net only to have it ruled out because referee Mr Rubery had blown for half time before it crossed the line!!.
HALF TIME:DAGENHAM & RED 0 CHESTER 0.
Dagenham started the second half with a bit more purpose.Unfortunatley Our friend Mr Rubery had other ideas,constantly stopping the game and handing bookings out like they were going out of fashion.Most didnt warrant a foul let alone a booking.The introduction of sub Junior MacDougald seemed to turn the game towards Dagenhams favour,
his runs were causing a little concern amongst the City Defenders and on 72 mins with there first real chance Dagenham found themselves 1-0 up,a corner was met and sent goalwards via STEVE HEFFERS head only to see NEIL FISHER clear off the line,but DANNY SHIPP was first to react making no mistake with his header.The game finally burst into action,Chester laying siege upon the home sides goal ,looking for the break through and the deserved equaliser.But once again Mr Rubery stopped the game for over 6 minutes while defender Goodwin was having attention to an injury,Goodwin well capable of leaving the field as he was still standing.I thought that the momentem was lost but that was'nt the case,On 87 mins ANDY PORTER hammered a 20 yard thunderbolt past Roberts in the Dagenham goal,which sparked off a 20 man brawl when Jason Broom seemed to trip a City Player as they celebrated the goal ,But to no ones surpise the referee got it wrong again with Broom only getting a yellow card.He was that bad both sets of fans sung together "you dont know what your doing".
The man is obviously trying to make a name for himself the only thing he hasnt got is ability to control a game.
Chester were unlucky not to win this game but in the end were just glad to keep up there unbeaten record and manage to keep all 11 players on the pitch.

FULL TIME; DAGENHAM 1 CHESTER 1

Teams CHESTER:Brown 6,Lancaster 6,Woods 6,Beesley P 7,Ruffer 7,Carden 7,*Porter 8*,Whitehall 7,Beesley M 6,Blackburn 6.
Subs:Wright 6,Fisher 6,Ruscoe 6.

Dagenham;Roberts,Cole,Broom,Goodwin,Matthews,Terry,
Janney,Cobb,Shipp,Heffer,Jones.
Subs;McDougald,Keen,



28/10/00.FA CUP 4th QAUL ROUND.
EASINGTON COLLIERY 0 CHESTER 2
Att;App 500,Whitehall(6),Beesley M (80).

Chester did enough to go through to the next
round of the FA Cup on a very cold ,Wet & blustery day in the north east.The Easington ground looked nothing more than a sunday league set up and must have been very hard to get motivated for this one.
Eastington battled hard but the times they actually crossed the half way line were very limited.There lone striker having to work very hard to get into the game.City started well and after 6 mins Beesley put STEVE WHITEHALL through on the right hand side,he cut inside and hit a low drive past the Easington keeper.
City played with a lot a of patience and were unlucky not to be 2 or 3 up at half time,Blackburn & Beesley should of been on the score sheet.
HALF TIME:Easington 0 Chester 1.
The second half was poor but City knew that there was not much threat from the home side as an attacking force.There first real chance being a free kick on the edge of the area that went high over WAYNE BROWNS bar.Both sides found it hard to come to terms with the wind in the 2nd half,a lot of passes were overhit.
CITY secured the passage to the next round on 80 mins, MARK BEESLEY scoring with a low drive inside the left hand side of the box.
STEVE WHITEHALL came close towards the end with a fine diving header from a MATTY DOUGHTY cross hitting the keepers right hand post.
CITY had progressed to the FA CUP proper to compete against a league side for the first time since being relegated.Plymouth Argyle are our next opponents and with The Conference teams record against 3rd DIV opposition The Blues must be fairly confident of reaching the 2nd Round.
Team;Brown 6,Lancaster 6,Woods 6,*Ruffer 8*,Beesley P 7,Carden 7,Porter 7,Blackburn 6,Beesley M 7,Whitehall 7.
Sub:Fisher 7.



21/10/00.NATIONWIDE CONFERENCE.

CHESTER 1 LEIGH RMI 1
Wright(90)Black(79,pen)
Att:1858.
Chester welcomed back Andy Porter one of last seasons heroes & Steve Whitehall had signed a 3 Year contract.There was an air of optimism about the place,but the Deva hoodoo struck again,as it has for a few managers before Graham Barrow,The inability to finish off poor opposition At THE DEVA STADIUM being the problem.
Whether it was down to another penalty miss,good defending from Leigh,a long slog in midweek against Hednesford or just a fine goalkeeping display from ex City favourite Dave Felgate its hard to tell.
The Blues did most of the attacking and only the odd shot from Leigh winger Jonel caused Brown the very odd problem.Chester were given a penalty on 19 mins when Mark Beesley seemed to be pushed over inside the area.Top Scorer STEVE WHITEHALL stepped up only to see FELGATE make the save including the rebound.The Blues continued to press for most of the 1st half with no reward,most efforts high & wide.
HALF TIME; CHESTER 1 LEIGH 1

Chester kept up the pressure into the second half,but even the sending off of Leigh defender Devenney a break through could'nt be found.
Against the run of play Striker Tony BLACK found himself free on the left hand side and a clumsey tackle from Carden resulted in BLACK(79) himself converting the penalty.
Citys unbeaten run looked like it was coming to an end.Paul BEESLEY was an inspiration in this final 10 mins,time after time carrying the ball 30 or 40 yards looking for the one opening they deserved.
We had to wait a long time for an equaliser but when it came on 90 mins there was a huge sigh of relief and even belief the game was there to be won.
Scott RUSCOE played a teasing ball between defence and goalkeeper and DARREN WRIGHT was first to react,
with a low header from about 5 or 6 yards.
City should have won this game and with Rushden losing could of made up a lot of ground on the leagues favourites,but it was'nt to be.
It must have been as frustrating for Graham Barrow as it was for the faithful,but this is going to happen more & more this season because the majority of conference sides are well organised and defend in numbers,its something we've got to learn to overcome in the coming months if were to be top of the pile come May.
Full Time;CHESTER 1 LEIGH 1.

Teams:Brown 6,Lancaster 5,Woods 6,*Beesley P 8*Doughty 6,Carden 6,Porter 6,Blackburn 5,Beesley M 5,Whitehall 6.
Subs:Wright 6,Ruffer 6,Ruscoe 6.

Leigh;Felgate,Scott,Devanney,Udall,Farrell,Swan,
Monk,German,Harris,Black,Jonel.
Subs Used;Critchley,Dootson.




17/10/00.N/Wide Trophy 2nd Round.
CHESTER 2 HEDNESFORD 2.
Blackburn,Beesley M.

For those fortunate enough to stay at home,City strolled into a 2-0 lead with out breaking into sweat.Goals either side of half time from CHRIS BLACKBURN,with a low drive past Keeper GAYLE's right hand & MARK BEESLEY finished off a good move from Steve Finneys unselfish through ball & this game looked all over.But Chesters makeshift eleven with out Paul Beesley,Paul Carden,Fisher & Steve Whitehall seemed to lose interest,letting Hednesford back in the game.A STUART LAKE free kick from the edge of the box put the visitors back in the game.NEIL DAVIES equalised late on putting the game into extra time.
STEVE FINNEY should have put The Blues into the quater finals,but hit the post with his penalty kick in the second period of extra time.Dispite the four goals this cup is even more meaningless than The Auto Windsceens Cup,which certainly showed by the players reaction and the small crowd that was there wanting any one to score rather than have to go to a replay.(can't we just give Hednesford the tie & put us out our misery!)

Team;Brown 6,Moss 5,Woods 5,Lancaster 5,Ruffer 5,Doughty 6,Richardson 5,Blackburn 5,Ruscoe 5,Beesley M 7,Finney 5.
Subs;Wright 5,Carden 6,Fisher 6.

FULL TIME, CHESTER 2 HEDNESFORD 2


14/10/00.CONFERENCE LEAGUE.
FOREST GREEN 1 CHESTER 1.
Foster(48) Fisher(57)
Att:943.
Promotion chasers City kept their campaign on
course with an away point,but is was not earned without a scare.Forest Green looking for a result after 2 successive defeats fielded an attack minded line up with Bristol City striker Alex Meachan leading the line.
CITY kept to the same eleven that had been so successful recently.In a close first half it was Chrster who should have took the lead when MARK BEESLEY wasted a golden oppotunity with only Keeper STEVE PERRIN to beat but failed to hit the target.
HALF TIME;Forest Green 0 CHESTER 0.
CITY got off to a slow start in the second half and Forest Green took the lead on 48 mins,ADRIAN FOSTER scoring from just inside the box giving WAYNE BROWN no chance.City stepped up a gear after that with chances falling to Whitehall & Fisher.But it was NEIL FISHER's quick thinking that brought about Chesters equiliser,STEVE PERRIN failed to hold a shot and Fisher scored from the rebound from close range on 57 mins.
Both sides had plenty of chances inthe second half,substitute BAILEY hitting the crossbar for the home side and STeve Whitehall hitting the bar at the other end.
Martin Lancaster should have won the game for City towards the end, but put his header wide of the keepers right hand post.This was a hard earned point but in the end this was 2 points lost.Citys missed chances have to be turned into goals,but on a high note Chester move into third spot in the league above Hereford,but still 10 points behind the leaders and a game in hand.

FINAL SCORE:FOREST GREEN 1 CHESTER 1.

Teams,CHESTER:Brown 6,Moss 6,Lancaster 6,Beesley 7,Woods 6,Carden 8,Blackburn 6,Fisher 7,Beesley M 6,Whitehall 7.
Subs;Wright 6,

Forest Green;Perrin,Cousins,Norton,Clark,Hatswell,Burns,
Bennett, Drysdale,Hedges,Foster,Meachan.
Subs:Bailey,Kilgour.



8/10/00.CONFERENCE LEAGUE.
CHESTER 2 KETTERING 1
Att;2102.
Whitehall 2(61,66)Brown(46).

City's 2-1 win over lowly Kettering has put them back in touch of the leading pack in The Conference.
In a pretty uneventfull first half Chester failed to find there recent form.
It was just after half time when the game came to life,on 46 mins a ball played out to the Kettering right was crossed into the City box with the defence still a sleep from the break PHIL BROWN made no mistake from 10 yds.
KETTERING then decided that they were happy with that and tryed to hold on to what they had got.City soon got back into there stride and chances falling to BLACKBURN & FISHER ,it was only a matter of time before they equalised.The Blues only had to wait till 61 mins and it was a goal worth waiting for.A STEVE WHITEHALL special from the edge of the box,his left foot shot thundering past Keeper Wilsons right hand into the top corner.City back on level terms but the draw not good enough.Chester took the lead though on 66 mins.Plenty of good work down the left from Doughty who was having another superb game found STEVE WHITEHALL unmarked at the back post, powered his header to the keepers left and into the net.
City were just about worthy of the 3 pts, the only scare being a free kick from the edge of the box which WAYNE BROWN collected well.But this is the way they must scrape out results even on a bad day if there is going to be a return to the Football League at the end of the season.

CHESTER 2 KETTERING TOWN 1.

TEAM;CHESTER,Brown 7,Moss 6,Woods 7,Beesley P 7,
Lancaster 7,Doughty 8,Carden 7,Fisher 7,Blackburn 6,
Beesley M 7,*Whitehall 9*.
SUBS USED;Ruffer 7,Wright 7.


3/9/00.CONFERENCE LEAGUE.
SCARBORO 0 CHESTER 2
Att;1193.Whitehall(43)Blackburn(48).

Earlydoors M.O.M & prog cover(bottom of page)

CHESTERS visit to "The McCain Stadium"could have
turned out to be one of the toughest this season.
The Seadogs off the back of 5 wins from 6 games
were the current form team.For the first 20
mins they looked the part as The Blues had to
weather the storm in more ways than one.
Scarboro striker STEVE BRODIE was unlucky on a
couple of occasions not to put them in front as
the wind and rain arrived.After the opening
on slaught City finally got going and on 43 mins NEIL FISHER headed a Doughty cross goalwards
only to see SCARBORO keeper Andy Woods fumble ,
STEVE WHITEHALL following up to score
from close range.(But to be honest from the
away stand it was hard to see who had scored,but
we'll just have to take teletexts word for it).
HALF TIME SCARBORO 0 CHESTER 1.

CITY started well in the 2nd half and did'nt take
long to increase there lead ,a solo run from
CHRIS BLACKBURN(48) into the left hand side of
the box then blasted the ball past Woods in the
home sides goal.As a contest the game was
virtually over as the Scarboro heads
dropped and the meanest defence in the
Conference tightened up.CITY looked to increase
the lead with both Mark Beesley & Steve
Whitehall hitting them on the counter
attack,with fine passing and movement from the
midfield trio of Carden,Fisher & Blackburn.
Scarboro introduced Chris Tate towards the end(who
scored 2 against us in there last game at
The Deva)now looking like Ravinelli these
days but playing like Ravioli!!but did have one
effort at the end of the game WAYNE BROWN
equal to it at his right hand post.CITY worked hard for these 3 points at the "THEATRE OF CHIPS"
& this was a very impressive victory.

FULL TIME:SCARBORO 0 CHESTER 2.

TEAMS:CITY,Brown 7,Moss 7,Lancaster 7,Beesley P
8,Woods 8,Doughty 8,Carden 8,Blackburn 8,Fisher
8,*Beesley M 9*,Whitehall 8.

SCARBORO;Woods,Russell,Brunton,Ingram,Ellender
,Rennison,Williams,Betts,Savic,Brodie,Jones.
Subs Used;Tate,Stoker,Pounder.



30/9/00.CONFERENCE LEAGUE.
HEDNESFORD 0 CHESTER 0.
Att;1,435.

City were expecting maximum points from the short trip to staffs.But Hednesfords route one style stopped City from passing the ball around which had given rewards in the last two games.Hednesford had tightened up there defence & with Chesters defence being the meanest in the league this game turned out to be a dull stalemate.CRAIG GAUNT only lasted 10 mins after returning from injury & was replaced by LANCASTER.There were very few chances in the game,Hednesford probably coming the closest after after 27 mins when STUAT LAKE hit a 30 yard free kick inches over the crossbar.
HALF TIME:Hednesford 0 Chester o
CHESTERS best chance of the game fell to CHRIS BLACKBURN on 53 mins when his drive was blocked by LAKE and towards the end PAUL CARDEN's shot was well saved by keeper MARK GAYLE.Other than that both keepers had a quiet afternoon. On a plus note MATTY WOODS seems to be finding a bit of consistant
form with another good solid performance in defence & NEIL FISHER trying hard to get the ball on the ground to play a bit of football against a team that would have rather played in the sky!!.
ON the down side was the injury to GAUNT and MARK BEESLEY seemed to struggle for most of the game and looked to be carrying an injury.

FULL TIME:Hednesford 0 Chester 0.

TEAMS,CHESTER;Brown 7,*Woods 8*,Gaunt 5,Beesley P 7,
Doughty 7,Carden 7,Blackburn 7,Fisher 7,Moss 6,
Beesley M 6, Whitehall 6.
SUBS;Lancaster 7,Kerr 6,Finney 6.

HEDNESFORD;Gayle,Robinson,Haran,Lake,Pointon,
Bagshaw,Owen,Cooper,Sedgemore,Bonsall,Russell.
SUBS USED;Brown,Airdrie.





26/9/00;CONFERENCE LEAGUE.
CHESTER 4 NUNEATON 0 .
Crowley(37)o.g
Beesley M (59,65)
Evans(85)
ATT:1708.

Those who stayed away tonight missed a cracker!.
There was nothing between the two teams in the
first half,on the Nuneaton side Lee Charles &Alex
Sykes were outstanding,Sykes had 2 or 3 good efforts on goal in the first half stretching WAYNE
BROWN on a couple of occasions and Lee Charles running with the ball from midfield will probably
fetch in the football league scouts very shortly.
But it was CITY who were finally dealed a spot of
good look on 37 mins when a MARTIN LANCASTER shot
was sliced by DAVE CROWLEY towards goal which
seemed to leave Keeper CHRIS MacKENZIE to collect
easily,He made a total hash of it ,the ball dropping
behind him into the net,much to the surprise of
every one at "THE DEVA".
CITY had there fair share of the chances before the
goal,two falling to MARK BEESLEY,one drive just over
the bar.MATTY DOUGHTY was finding a lot of space
down the left with the help of accurate passing
from new skipper NEIL FISHER.
CHRIS BLACKBURN also had a fine effort saved by MacKENZIE.
HALF TIME:CHESTER 1 NUNEATON 0
NUNEATON started the 2nd half well,the main threat
coming from Charles & Sykes again,Top scorer Mark
MacGregor was having a quiet evening.
FISHER & DOUGHTY began to cause more problems down
the left.Fisher came close on 50 mins firing over
the bar.City stepped up a gear after that and were soon 2-0 up with a fine solo effort from MARK
BEESLEY(59mins),cutting in from the left and
beating Mackenzies left hand with a low drive.
Soon after BEESLEY had grabbed his 2nd of the night,
A low corner from NEIL FISHER beat every one bar MARK BEESLEY at the far post,which he hammered home
from close range(66 mins).NEIL FISHER himself
deserved to score just after the 3rd goal,a ball out
of defence from CARDEN found Fisher around the half
way line,after beating Simpson & Crowley chipped the keeper only to see his effort cleared off the line by Jon Gittens.
By this time MATTY DOUGHTY was finding acres of space down the left as the chances kept coming.
ANDY EVANS came on as a late sub for two goal Beesley,and it was'nt long before he had joined in,
latching on to a Steve Whitehall through ball to
place past the on coming keeper(85 mins).
Towards the end of the game Keeper Mackenzie came
out 25 yds to clear the ball,EVANS put him under
pressure took the ball off himm but unfortunatly
clipped the out side of the post.
A brilliant second half performance from CITY &
in the end could have been more.This was the second
good allround performance this week & hopefully the
consistancy CHESTER will need to challenge the top
clubs.PAUL BEESLEY was outstanding at the back on
his return to the side,CITY look a far better side
when passing the ball on the floor,than the long,
high ball used earlier in the season.
FULL TIME:CHESTER 4 NUNEATON 0.

TEAMS:Brown 7,Lancaster 7,Beesley P 8,Woods 7,
Doughty 8,Carden 8,Blackburn 7,Moss 7,*Fisher 9*,
Beesley M 8,Whitehall 8.
Subs-Evans 7,Woodyatt 7.

NUNEATON;Mackenzie,Simpson,Love,Taylor,Gittens,
Crowley,Brennan,Charles,Macgregor,Kotylo,Sykes,
SUBS USED:Francis,Angus,Williams.








23/9/00;FOOTBALL CONFERENCE .
KINGSTONIAN 1 CHESTER 3.
Luckett(pen)67.WHITEHALL(14.74pen)EVANS(84)
Att;app 1125.
*********************************************
MAN OF THE MATCH & PROG COVER(Bottom of the page)
*********************************************

Hail! STEVE WHITEHALL ,What a difference a
proven striker makes.The loan signing from
Oldham looked very lively and it was only a matter of time before he got on the score sheet .
We did'nt have to wait long,He recieved the ball
just outside the box on 17 mins ,tuned and hit an unstoppable half volley,into the top right hand corner of the net.
City should have gone in at half time 4-0 up,
only for a goal line clearance as BEESLEY slipped the ball past keeper Farrelly,only to see LUCKETT
clear off the line.It was Beesley again,who brought the best out of the keeper when he made a fine save
at his right hand post.
MARK BEESLEY was having a good afternoon but nothing to show for it,and was unlucky not to gain a penalty towards the end of the half,when he was
brought down on route to goal.
HALF TIME;KINGSTONIAN 0 CHESTER 1.
The home side started the second half looking for an early equaliser,pegging City back.On 67mins
Darren Moss was brought down Sammy Wilson in side the box,COLIN LUCKETT Scoring from the penalty.
City didnt have to wait long to go back in front,
STEVE WHITEHALL fouled inside the area by Luckett,
WHITEHALL took the resulting penalty himself(74mins).
Whitehall & Beesley were substituted towards the end
and it was his replacment ANDY EVANS who scored City's third with a fine header.Chester could have won this by a bigger margin ,they looked more comfatable with Richardson & Fisher back in the side,giving Paul Carden some much needed help.
Woods & Lancaster Coped well inplace of Gaunt &
suspended Paul Beesley.
But the man of the match award has to go to on loan
striker Steve Whitehall,who looks the natural goalscorer City have been looking for & well deserved his ovation after being substituted late on.

TEAMS ;
CHESTER;Brown 7,Moss 7,Lancaster 7,Woods 8,
Doughty 7,Carden 8,Richardson 7,Fisher 8,
Blackburn 7,Beesley 7,*WHITEHALL 9*.
SUBS-Kerr 7,Finney 6,Evans 7.

KINGSTONIAN;Farrelly,Boyce,Luckett,Allan,
Harriott,Harris,Patterson,Pitcher,Winston,
Simba,Akuamoah.