Chester FC 1 Rushall Olympic 1 - with picture gallery

Aug 13 2011 by Mark Dowling, Chester Chronicle

CHESTER FC kicked off their Evostik Northern Premier League season with a pulsating yet ultimately frustrating 1-1 draw at the Exacta Stadium.

The Blues opened the scoring in the 14th minute and while there was initial confusion about whether Matty McNeil had glanced the an inswinging Greg Stones shot into the back of the net, with both players claiming credit until McNeil was announced as the goalscorer, there was no doubt Chester FC fully deserved an early lead.

The home side should have made it 2-0 just before the half-hour mark, thanks to a superb team effort which culminated in Robbie Booth toe-poking the ball into the goal, but referee Paul Mahon controversially pulled play back for a foul moments earlier by Rushall defender James Skedgel, whose subsequent booking did little to appease the furious home fans.

That proved costly for Chester as in the 38th minute, a defensive mix-up forced Chester goalkeeper John Danby into making a rash tackle against Rushall's Matt Lewis, conceding a penalty in the process. Lewis coolly stepped up to smash home the equaliser.

Nonetheless, Rushall went into the break with a deserved share of the spoils, with their ever-threatening striker Ahmed Obeng unlucky not to score himself after a cheeky chip over Danby hit the crossbar.

While Obeng persisted in being dangerous whenever on the attack in the second half, particularly in the 51st minute when a mazy run ended in a sweet shot just wide of the Chester post, the majority of chances fell Chester's way, who turned up the wick and piled on the pressure.

The Blues' Iain Howard nearly made that pressure count when he hit the post in the 61st minute, while Chris Simm could only chip the ball away when the rebound rapidly found his feet.

In the 75th minute, Danby's first-half foul was replicated in the Rushall box as Olympic's Grant Beckett felled substitute Jamie Rainford and the referee awarded the second penalty of the game, this time to Chester. However Rainford's effort was weak and keeper Chris Gemmell was more than equal to saving it.

Perhaps angered by their failure to take the lead, Chester went into all-out attack toward the end as Robbie Booth, McNeil, Liam Brownhill and substitute Alex Brown all created chances in short order, but solid Rushall defending including a clearance off the line, kept the scores level when the final whistle blew.

Chester (4-4-2): Danby; Brownhill, Horan, Smith, Stones; Booth (Baynes 82), Williams, Powell (Brown 67), Howard; Simm (Rainford 67), McNeil. Subs: Judge, Reed.

Goal: McNeil, 14.

Booked: Danby.

Rushall Olympic (4-4-2): Gemmell; Skedgel (Spittle 82), Smith, Tolley, Platt; Keenan (Beckett 55), Blythe, Bragoly, Amos (Morris 82); Lewis, Obeng. Subs: Maguire, Patrick.

Goal: Lewis, 38.

Booked: Platt, Skedgell, Keenan, Spittle.

Referee: Paul Mahon (Liverpool).

Attendance: 2,326.