Cheshire police have praised the ‘majority’ of football fans after last night’s dramatic cross-border derby between Chester FC and Welsh rivals Wrexham.
Despite a heavy police presence and the heavily criticised ‘bubble match’ arrangements, several flares still managed to be smuggled into the Swansway Chester Stadium and thrown onto the playing surface by visiting supporters.
But police chief Inspector Richard Rees said: “The majority of people attending were well behaved and enjoyed a good game in a lively atmosphere. Some missiles and flares were thrown onto the pitch during the match - there were no injuries reported.
“In total four people were arrested – two for being drunk and disorderly and two for a pitch incursion. I would like to thank everyone involved for their assistance – in particular all of the officers who have been involved in the planning and policing of the match,” he added.
Chester won one of the most dramatic derby matches in recent memory 2-1 thanks to a last-gasp goal by defender Ben Heneghan, in front of crowds spanning approximately 3150.
However, despite the game generally passing without a hitch, there was a flash-point just before kickoff, during a minute’s silence for the victims of the Gresford Colliery Disaster.
This week marked the 80th anniversary of the blast which claimed the lives of 266 miners, and both sides had agreed to mark the occasion before the match. But some Chester fans sparked anger from their Wrexham counterparts after they started chanting during the silence, resulting in a smoke bomb being thrown onto the pitch.
But the large police presence ensured things didn’t get out of hand.
The bubble match classification for the game meant that all Wrexham fans had to be bussed to the ground from designated pick up points, and could only travel if they had a match ticket.
