Northwich Victoria 1, Chester City 1

Feb 27 2001 Chester Chronicle Series

FOR half of this Cheshire derby at the Drill Field Chester carried on where they left off against Conference leaders Yeovil.

But then they lost the plot with a shambolic second half performance which had their 1,200 travelling fans groaning with frustration.

The half-time loss of Carl Ruffer with a badly gashed shin following a tackle by Gregg Blundell certainly disrupted the City defence, but it was hardly an excuse for the way Chester allowed an ordinary Northwich side back into the game.

Chester were in complete control and should have been heading for their first away league win since October, thanks to a superb goal by Jimmy Haarhoff, who cleverly turned Gary Talbot before firing his shot into the far corner of the net after 34 minutes.

Scott Ruscoe was twice denied by Lance Key as City went for the jugular, but there were also a couple of escapes at the other end as Wayne Brown denied Blundell, who should have done better with a side-net shot on the stroke of half-time.

But Blundell had the last word on 65 minutes, firing home after Brown had punched away a free-kick.

After preparing to celebrate a victory the City fans began to fear the worst, but although Chester rarely looked like recovering their first half form they went close to scoring when Mark Beesley shot against a post following good work by Haarhoff.

Northwich: Key, Bates, Barnard, Davis, Talbot, Burke, Norris, Blundell, Fletcher (Walling 45), Mike, Devlin (Simpson 90).Subs: Hoccroft, Mitchell, Haughton.

Booked: Walling.

Chester: Brown, Fisher, Doughty (Gaunt 57), Lancaster, Ruffer (Moss 45), P Beesley, Carden, Haarhoff, Woods, M Beesley, Ruscoe. Subs: Price, Woodyatt, Wright.

Referee: C Baasingdale.

Attendance: 2,651.