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Chester City v Blyth Spartans,
Saturday 24th February 2001
FA Trophy Round 5
Chester City 4 V 2 Blyth Spartans
att:1831
Haarhoff(6),M.Beesley(23)
Perry(64),Robson(67)
P.Beesley(81),Whitehall(90)
City through to the quarter finals of the FA
Trophy but just like in the last round they where forced to work hard as
the struggling Unibond Premier League side came back from 2 nil down but
in the end go down 4-2 at the Deva
The 4-2 score line doesn’t tell the full picture of this match and
really flatters City as Unibond Premier League side Blyth Spartans put on
a battling performance and could have added another giant killing to their
already long list but for some bad luck and one or two outstanding stops
from Wayne Brown in the City goal as the blues for the third game running
put in a poor second half performance which saw the plucky part timers
come back to 2-2 at one point following some woeful defending. It wasn’t
until Blyth started to tire in the last 10 minutes that City did
eventually see them off thanks to goals from veterans Paul Beesley and a
break away goal from Steve Whitehall on his return from injury. Spartans
should never have had the opportunity to get back into this tie though and
these second half performances are becoming all too common and one of
these days we aren’t going to be quite as lucky as we have been recently
and are going to get punished.
The blues started with the same team that beat Telford 1-0 on Tuesday
night with both Jimmy Haarhoff and Paul Carden passing late fitness tests.
Steve Whitehall wasn’t 100% fit but returned from a rib injury to take a
place on the City bench. Blyth on the other hand had a full strength squad
to pick from with several ex-league players included in it and with
manager John Charlton fired up for the game following his claim that after
applying for the Chester managers job last year he received no reply
everything looked set for a cracking cup tie and it didn’t disappoint.
City got off to a fantastic start to the tie thanks to fans favourite
Jimmy Haarhoff. Haarhoff grabbed his second goal for the blues after
shrugging off two defenders before placing the ball to the right of
stranded Blyth keeper Burke to the delight of the City faithful.
Blyth, egged on by around 150 die hard fans who had made the long journey
down from the North East went straight on the offensive in search of a
goal to get them back on level terms and it nearly came on 8 minutes.
Martyn Lancaster fouled on the edge of the area and from the resulting
free kick Wayne Brown was forced into action for the first time diving to
his right and holding onto the curling free kick.
Neither side could really get a grip on the game and it came as a surprise
that on 22 minutes the blues went two up. Scott Ruscoe won City a corner
and from the resulting corner the ball was played in short to Haarhoff, he
turned an oncoming defender before crossing the ball into the unmarked
Mark Beesley who side footed the ball into the empty net.
Many now expected Blyth heads to go down and for City to romp home to an
emphatic score line but no we should have known better, this is Chester
remember. City instead of getting the ball on the deck and knocking it
around felt the need to adopt the long ball tactic and resorted to hoofing
the ball up the pitch only for the ball to either come straight back at
them or for it to run aimlessly out of play. Blyth weren’t going to go
down without a fight and still battled for every ball whilst also trying
to prize open a gap in the City defence knowing full well that a goal
would get them right back in the tie. Neither side could make a chance for
themselves though and City went in at half time two goals up.
The second half came and it was obvious that the Blyth manager Charlton
had had words at half time as Spartans pushed forward in numbers and it
sometimes looked as though they had more men on the pitch as they created
chance after chance splitting the Chester defence with ease. If you
didn’t know better you would have thought they where the Conference side
as they where playing all the football whilst City where still happy to
play the long ball game.
Two minutes in and a ball was whipped in from the left wing and any kind
of touch on the ball from the two Blyth players chucking themselves at it
in the 6 yard box would have been a certain goal. Luckily for blues fans
the ball had too much pace on it and it averted both their boots and ran
safely out of play.
Three minutes later and there was confusion among the City fans. Blyth had
the ball in the net direct from a free kick and it looked as though the
referee had given the goal as the Blyth players ran away to celebrate and
the Spartans fans where jumping up and down cheering in the South Terrace
even though blues fans where sure the referee had given it as indirect.
Luckily after various City fans gave confused looks at each other it
turned out that the referee had disallowed the goal and a goal kick was
given.
Graham Barrow decided it was time for change as Darren Moss came on for
Craig Gaunt with Mattie Woods coming back from his makeshift striker role
to take up his normal position at centre back. Blyth still pushed forward
in numbers though and it came as no surprise when they grabbed a lifeline
goal. A long ball was well controlled by Blyth forward Perry, he did well
to turn Paul Beesley and he chipped the ball into the net over the
advancing Brown to the delight of the travelling fans.
Three minutes later and they where level. Three City players all went to
head a long ball which had been pumped forward away and they all missed it
as Perry won the header, the ball fell to top scorer Robson in the area
who had plenty of time to drive the ball past Brown to send the North
Easterners into delirium.
Still Blyth pushed forward sensing victory, Brown had to make an
impressive save from close range when Robson drove a shot in whilst
Chester’s only chance saw sub Darren Moss drive a shot well wide.
Barrow made more changes as Haarhoff came off for Darren Wright whilst 10
minutes later the game saw Steve Whitehall come on after returning from
injury as the prospect of a replay on Tuesday night looked more and more
likely.
A combination of Blyth beginning to tire and Whitehall actually doing what
the attackers hadn’t been doing all game and holding the ball up instead
of just belting it anywhere saw City begin to get themselves back in the
game. Ruscoe saw his header cleared off the line and from the resulting
corner City got themselves back infront. The corner was floated in and it
looked an easy catch for Blyth keeper Burke but he was impeded by his own
players, the ball dropped to Darren Wright who squared the ball to captain
Paul Beesley and he did the rest hitting an unstoppable shot into the net.
Blyth huffed and puffed and through everything but
the kitchen sink at the City defence but they couldn’t find the final
ball that had been so lethal earlier in the half and on two occasions City
found themselves on the breakaway.
The first time Mark Beesley found himself in the clear with only the
keeper to beat but he scuffed his shot well wide of the goal when if he
had looked up all he had to do was square the ball to Whitehall who would
have had a tap in. Whitehall did find himself on the score sheet moments
later though as he found himself in the box with only the keeper to beat
and after taking the piss out of the keeper dummying him a number of times
before the keeper finally went to ground and Whitehall chipped it into the
empty net. That was it, unconvincing but still victory and the blues are
in the hat for the quarter finals.
With both Rushden and Yeovil getting knocked out today City must now
really fancy their chances in this competition but as I said earlier
second half performances must improve as whoever we draw in the quarters
is going to be a difficult draw and a performance like the one today would
have probably led to defeat against a Burton, Hereford or Southport.
Man Of The Match- Again it was a
tough one as nobody really stood out today. I'll give it to Scott Ruscoe
though as I thought he had a good game in midfield bringing the ball
forward well in the first 25 minutes of the first half and could have had
a couple of goals as well. Second half it was backs to the wall stuff so
I`ll give it on first half basis.
Chester-Brown,Fisher,Doughty,Lancaster,Gaunt,P.Beesley,Carden,Haarhoff,Woods,M.Beesley,Ruscoe,
Subs:Price,Berry,Whitehall,Moss,Wright
Blyth-Burke,Little,Martin,Forster,Keegan,Williams,Stewart,Perry,Robson,Dixon,Pepper
Subs:Dunkersly,Collins,Heppell,Cottrill,Hay
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