Chester City 4, Blyth Spartans 2

Feb 27 2001 by Neil Turner, Daily Post

CHESTER CITY recorded their ninth victory in cup competitions this season on Saturday, but they were given a fright by a plucky Blyth Spartans outfit before they progressed to today's FA Trophy quarter-final draw.

After dominating the first half and deservedly going in at the break leading 2-0, Chester were made to fight all the way in the second period as the UniBond League strugglers made a spirited comeback to equalise only for City to pull away again with two late goals.

Chester opened their account after just six minutes when ex-Birmingham City striker Jimmy Haarhoff rifled the ball home from 15 yards, after good work by Matt Doughty and Matt Woods.

The home side appeared to be cruising when they doubled their advantage after 22 minutes. Haarhoff turned orchestrator as he set Mark Beesley up to score from close range.

Beesley and Woods both squandered gilt-edged chances as the one-sided half drew to a close.

The match was turned on its head in the second period as Blyth looked a totally different proposition and City supporters began to have visions of a recent FA Cup tie at nearby Prenton Park.

The Chester defence looked as wobbly as a self-assembly wardrobe as Blyth plundered two goals in as many minutes.

Craig Perry took advantage of hesitancy by Lancaster to curl the ball home after 64 minutes then similar indecision 90 seconds later allowed Glen Robson to equalize.

The North Easterners pushed forward looking for another goal and this turned out to be their undoing, as they left gaps at the back for Chester to exploit.

With 10 minutes remaining, Scott Ruscoe found space and headed goalwards. Perry weakly cleared the effort and veteran defender Paul Beesley rocketed the loose ball in to the back of the net, much to the relief of the City faithful. As the visitors visibly tired, substitute Steve Whitehall snatched Chester's fourth in injury time to give the scoreline a flattering look.

After the match, relieved City boss Graham Barrow said: "We had a poor spell defensively in the second-half and were punished for it, but credit to the lads for the way they reacted, to come back well after the set backs."

CHESTER CITY: Brown, Fisher, Doughty, Lancaster, Gaunt (Moss 54), P Beesely, Carden, Haarhoff (Wright 68), Woods (Whitehall 78), M Beesely, Ruscoe.Subs (not used); Price, Berry.

BLYTH SPARTANS: Burke, Little, Martin, Williams (Hay 61), Forster, Keegan, Dixon, Hepper, Robson, Perry, Stewart.

Subs(not used): Dunkerley, Collins, Heppell, Cotterall.

Referee: Mr A McGee (Prescot)

Attendance: 1,831