Chester City 0 Fleetwood Town 1

Dec 11 2009 Chester Chronicle

A CROWD containing just 408 City supporters watched their team crash out of the FA Trophy with a whimper tonight.

Adam Warlow’s 55th-minute strike, following a goalkeeping error from John Danby, was all that separated the sides at a fog-shrouded Deva Stadium.

But that should not disguise the fact that the lower-league Fishermen were worthy winners of a tepid first-round tie that will live long only in the memory of the 110-strong travelling Cod Army.

The Fishermen, boasting the likes of former Premier League winner Alan Wright, simply had too much know how for Jim Harvey’s boys, who were unable to repeat their Luton Town heroics of six days earlier.

Although a desperately disappointing display, it would be unfair to come down too hard on what is one of the youngest teams in cash-strapped Chester’s history.

The simple truth is that some of these players are not yet up to demands of a senior first-team football, but given the ridiculously small squad he has been left to work with, Blues boss Harvey has little option but to persevere with them.

And with youngsters comes inconsistency, so for every Luton performance, there will be a Fleetwood.

The story of the game may have been different had City taken their first and only real opportunity of the match three minutes in.

Ben Wilkinson slipped a neat through ball to top-scorer Nick Chadwick, who composed himself well but shot straight at Craig Dootson.

Relieved by the early let-off, the Blue Square North visitors began to boss proceedings. Jamie McGuire headed Sean Clancy’s inviting cross wide and then forced Danby into his first save of the night.

The hosts, featuring six players under the age of 21, were now very much on the back foot and only the cross bar prevented the dangerous McGuire seven minutes before the break.

Fleetwood’s pressure eventually told, though, 10 minutes after the restart.

Jamie Milligan’s free box into the box should have been gathered by Danby, but the Blues number one made a complete hash of his collection, allowing former Witton Albion striker Warlow the simplest of tap-ins.

Harvey threw on youth-team forward Ben Jones in the hope of an equaliser, but it was the Fishermen who came closest to scoring again when McGuire’s low angled drive was turned around the post by Danby.

CHESTER: Danby, Freeman, Kelly, Ryan, Rule, Rea (Lea 52), Barry, Owen, Ellams, Wilkinson (Jones 65), Chadwick. Subs: Murphy, Rawlinson, Coulter.

BOOKED: Ryan, Chadwick.

FLEETWOOD: Dootson, Beeley, Pond, McNulty, Wright, Mullan (Torpey 76), McGuire, Mulligan, Clancy, Rogan (Seddon 71), Warlow (Connors 86). Subs: Cahill, Hills.

BOOKED: McGuire.

GOAL: Warlow 55.

REFEREE: Colin Harwood (Manchester).

ATTENDANCE: 518 (110 away).