Kingstonian 0 Chester City 0

May 11 2001 by Ian Bedford, Chester Chronicle

(Chester won 4-2 on penalties)

SILVERWARE with Chester City's name on it is as scarce as a Terry Smith fan at an ISA meeting, so none of the Blues' supporters at the Kingsmeadow Stadium on Monday expected the much-maligned Nationwide Variety Club Trophy to be won easily.

And so it proved. But after struggling to create a chance against relegated Kingstonian after 120 minutes of some of the most boring football of the season City gave an immaculate display of penalty-taking to win their first cup competition since the Debenhams Cup in 1977 and clinch a place in next season's LDV Vans Trophy.

As it turned out the teams would have done everyone a favour by having the shoot-out from the start and spared the travellers a very late return home in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

But having said that the trophy is a handsome prize which the hosts could justifiably claim should be resting in their boardroom for the next 12 months instead of the Deva Stadium.

Kingstonian had the best chances and even managed to keep a clean sheet, despite playing for the last 40 minutes of the game with only 10 players following the dismissal of Mark Beard for violent conduct in a clash with Steve Whitehall.

Before that the time ticked by slowly. The first half was mind-numbingly tedious with only a goal-line clearance by Andy Porter from Eddie Akuamoah's overhead kick providing any action worth remembering.

The second half was brighter, but only through Kingstonian's efforts and Wayne Brown had to make two great saves to keep out Sammy Winston and Colin Luckett.

The first time home goalkeeper Adrian Blake was threatened was on the stroke of normal time when he acrobatically kept out a deflection from his own player Mark Harris.

Whitehall could have wrapped it up early in extra time, but his shot flashed across the face of the goal.

The penalty competition was always in Chester's control, Porter, Whitehall, Darren Wright and Neil Fisher on target, while Luckett fired over for Kingstonian and Brown saved Billy Mead's kick to clinch City's victory.

Kingstonian: Blake, Boyce, Luckett, Allan (Saunders 92), Stewart, Harris, Beard, Mead, Winston, Akuamoah, Green (Jones 59). Sub: Thurgood

Sent off: Beard. Booked: Boyce.

Chester: Brown, Ruscoe, Doughty (Kerr 62), Lancaster, Gaunt, Woodyatt, Fisher, Porter, M Beesley (Wright 62), Whitehall, Blackburn (Haarhoff 108).

Subs: Priestley, Moss.

Booked: Kerr.

Referee: L Jones.

Attendance: 495.