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Northwich Victoria v Chester City, Saturday 17th February 2001 Nationwide Conference League Northwich Victoria 1 V 1 Chester City att:2651 Blundell (64) Haarhoff (33) Uninspiring second half display sees the same old story come about as the blues yet again settle for a point in the league against a struggling Conference outfit The first league derby between Chester and Northwich at the Drill Field in 70 years promised a lot but delivered very little in what turned out to be a poor game with the make shift City side putting in a nightmare second half display which saw the ‘Vics’ come back from one nil down to grab a vital point in their battle for survival in the Conference League and with some better finishing it could quite easily have been more. Matt Woods kept his place upfront for the blues whilst Paul Carden took the place of the injured Chris Blackburn in the City midfield. Northwich on the other hand fielded a full strength side and started the game off with an attacking formation which included 3 forwards, former Manchester City player Adie Mike, Conference hot shot Gary Fletcher and new signing Gregg Blundell who was to come in for a lot of stick from the blues fans throughout the game following his stints with Merseyside teams Tranmere Rovers and Vauxhall Motors where he hit over 100 goals. The first half was a scrappy affair with neither side really being able to play any football but it was Chester who always looked the more likely to score. It wasn't until the 17th minute that either side created a chance and when it did come it fell the way of Scott Ruscoe, he was put clean through on goal following some good work on the left hand side by Jimmy Haarhoff and he was left with only the keeper to beat, but just like last week when he was put through one on one with the Yeovil keeper it was the same outcome as he hit his shot straight at Northwich keeper Lance Key and the ball bounced out to safety. City where having trouble finding forward players Haarhoff and Beesley but when they did get hold of the ball they were running rings around the Northwich defence who couldn't cope with either players pace and both could have scored in the opening half hour. It came as no surprise that both players combined to put the blues 1 up on 33 minutes. Mark Beesley turned on the edge of the area and squared the ball to Jimmy Haarhoff who quickly turned Vics defender Steve Davis and drilled the ball under Northwich keeper Key to the delight of the blues faithful. Northwich began to stir following the blues breakthrough and Gregg Blundell had a couple of good runs but couldn't finish them off and he should have scored just before the half time whistle when Adie Mike flicked a cross on to him at the far post but he could only fire his shot against the side netting from 6 yards to the relief of the City fans. The half time whistle went and saw two key players limp off. City defender Carl Ruffer added to City's already long injury list when he picked up a knock following a rash tackle by Gregg Blundell whilst Northwich striker Gary Fletcher also limped off following a tackle by Neil Fisher. Neither player came out for the second half and it saw both sides make changes. Northwich's new signing Dean Walling came on and took up the unfamiliar role as centre forward whilst Craig Gaunt returned from injury to take Carl Ruffers place at centre back. The first 20 minutes of the second half saw the blues put on a shocking performance as they sat back and let Northwich's 3 man attack come at them. Graham Barrow made a change bringing on Darren Moss for Matt Doughty who was having a bad day and changed from having wing backs to having a straight back four. Martyn Lancaster was forced to play at left back and he couldn't cope with Gregg Blundell's pace. The 'Vics' had numerous efforts at goal before on 64 minutes they did get themselves back on level terms. Richard Norris centred the ball which struck Adie Mike in the box, the ball spun off into the path of Blundell who hit an unstoppable shot into the corner of the net and past the despairing dive of City keeper Wayne Brown. The celebration that followed certainly wasn't needed as Blundell came over to the City fans who had given him a lot of stick all through the match following his stints at Tranmere and Vauxhall's, took his shirt off and made gestures at the City fans who where packed into the Dane Bank terrace. These actions won't be forgotten quickly by blues fans and its certain that if the two teams meet again next season he will be given a hostile welcome at the Deva. Just moments after Northwich had muscled themselves level they could have had the lead, the impressive Mark Devlin hit an inviting cross into the blues area where Dean Walling was to be found but he just couldn't quite get his head on it and the ball rolled out to safety. City began to wake up and Jimmy Haarhoff had a couple of good runs but unlike in the first half the Northwich defence managed to stop him before he got into a dangerous situation. He did on one occasion get through though after brilliantly beating Northwich defender Mark Barnard and the following cross was met by Mark Beesley who's shot hit the post and bounced out to safety to the despair of the blues faithful. The remainder of the game was very scrappy and the blues couldn't create anything else in front of goal. They had an opportunity from a free kick just before the 90th minute but what happened from that really summed up City's second half as both Mark Beesley and Neil Fisher confused each other and the Northwich defenders pounced on the ball before either could even get a shot in. The final whistle went to the boos and jeers of the traveling blues fans and it was yet another case like the games against Hayes, Woking and many more where City couldn't beat a team struggling at the wrong end of the table and if Chester are to mount a serious promotion challenge next year they are going to have to learn from games like this and finish off sides. Chester:Brown,Fisher,Doughty,Ruscoe,Lancaster,P.Beesley,Ruffer,Woods,M.Beesley,Haarhoff,Carden Subs:Woodyatt,Price,Wright,Moss,Gaunt Northwich:Key,Bates,Davis,Talbot,Burke,Barnard,Norris,Devlin,Fletcher,Mike,Blundell Subs:Walling,Holcroft,Mitchell,Simpson,Houghton Man Of The Match:Jimmy Haarhoff- Was a tough one to pick this week after seeing such a poor second half performance from the blues team but 'Big Jim' always looked the most threatening player going forward and produced some superb turns to beat defenders and scored a superb individual goal.
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