Steve Burr saw his side lose 1-0 at home on Saturday after the Blues gave away a questionable penalty to leave them one place above the relegation zone.
Bl
Steve Burr saw his side lose 1-0 at home on Saturday after the Blues gave away a questionable penalty to leave them one place above the relegation zone.
Blues stopper, Aaron Chapman committed to a tackle inside his area and brought down an Alfreton player, which saw the referee point to the penalty spot. Shaun Harrad sent Chapman the wrong way to slot home his effort into the bottom right corner of the net.
Despite losing, Chester started the game the brighter of the two sides which saw Ross Killock and Craig Mahon perform well down both flanks, but the Blues were unable to capitalise on crosses into the box.
Lewis Turner then followed in Killock’s footsteps and picked up the ball down the right hand side to sweep a looping ball into the Alfreton area. Gareth Seddon rose for the ball but went down easily, awarding the Reds with a free kick in their own area.
Shortly after, Killock was replaced by new signing Craig Hobson, after the Leeds United youngster appeared to stretch his hamstring after going into a tackle.
‘Penalty decision’
Seddon was once again part of the attack moments later after he turned well to send a cross into the Reds area, but Hobson couldn’t quite reach the ball and as a result went out for a goal kick.
Just before the break, John Rooney intercepted the ball and was tackled by Michael Wylde. The Alfreton defender jumped over the Blues attacker and landed awkwardly onto the ground. He was later stretchered off and replaced by Derren Kempson.
Chester started the second half as they’d finished the first and had a good chance to take the lead early on. Rooney picked out Seddon in the Alfreton area but the striker dragged his shot wide.
Soon after, Alfreton broke free with John Akinde through one-on-one with Chapman, but the Blues stopper stood his ground and saved well to keep the scores level.
Chester immediately charged down the other end and after a scramble in the box, Mahon blazed the ball over the net, ending another good chance for the Blues.
Chester’s new signing, Hobson, used his tall frame well and picked up the ball, losing his marker well with a clever turn. The attacker then placed a delightful ball into the Reds area but Seddon failed to latch onto the cross.
Alfreton looked to have scored midway through the half after a shot forced Chapman into a save. The Blues stopper was then out of his net and Akinde picked up the ball, but blazed his effort wide of the open goal.
Burr, who came out to see the press 30 minutes after full time, said: “We need to win all the games, I was just very disappointed that we didn’t do enough to win the game. I was disappointed with the penalty decision but even so, we should have done more ourselves to earn the right to win the game.”
Kettle’s Man of the Match: Craig Mahon.
After a below par performance from both sides, Mahon was always lively and looked a threat when going forward for the Blues. He contributed well in defence and tracked back even when he wasn’t being called upon.
Teams:
Chester FC: Chapman 5, L Turner 6, Brown 6, Killock 5 (Hobson 6), Linwood 5, Heath 6, Bond 5, N Turner 5 (Menagh 5), Mahon 6, Rooney 6, Seddon (c) 5 (Daniels 5).
Subs not used: Danby, Bridge.
Booked: Mahon, Chapman, Daniels
Alfreton Town: Worsnop 6, Wood 5, Bradley 5, Fenton 6, Wylde 5 (Kempson 5), Law 6, Poku 5, Shaw 5, Jones 5 (Meadows 5), Akinde 6 (Clayton 5), Harrad 6.
Subs not used: McFadzean, Andrews
Booked: Wylde, Akinde, Law, Harrad
Referee: Darren England
Assistants: Stephen Wade and Kelvin Sarsfield
Fourth Official: Chris Isherwood
Attendance: 2,042
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Image: Google – Rob Stratford
