Chester FC suffered a 3-2 reverse at the hands of Lincoln City on Saturday with an underwhelming first hour proving too much to overturn.
Alan Power's header nine minutes into the second-half gave the Imps a 3-1 advantage after earlier goals from Matt Rhead and Kegan Everington.
Ross Hannah got the Blues, who had levelled at 1-1 in the first period through Jordan Chapell, back into the contest and hit the crossbar soon after but the third goal never arrived despite sustained pressure late on.
It was a peculiar game with Lincoln going from being in total control at one stage to clinging on towards the end, but overall Chester again failed to produce the goods.
The Chronicle's Jim Green considers what lessons can be learned:
Ross Hannah needs better support to bring out his best
We saw in the second period how much more effective Ross Hannah can be when he has team-mates in close support. The first-half was a hard slog for the ex-Grimsby Town striker as got little change out of Lincoln central defenders Luke Waterfall and Callum Howe, although he did have a hand in Jordan Chapell's goal.
He looked much better with Craig Hobson and then George Thomson alongside him after the break, scoring an excellent goal, hitting the crossbar and heading over a decent chance for a second. That was the Ross Hannah the fans want to see, threatening defences rather than spending too much of the game with his back to the opposition goal.
Time to end the Ben Heneghan midfield experiment
Steve Thompson, the former Lincoln and Cambridge United manager who was summarising the game for BBC Radio Lincolnshire, said it best when he described Ben Heneghan as looking like a centre half playing as a midfielder. It's a square peg in a round hole situation, which has been created through Luke George's injury, and at the moment it's not working for the team or for Heneghan.
It's probably too soon to expect Sam Hughes to undertake such an important role in the side, so the manager's decision to use Heneghan has been understandable. There is a chance George will be available for Southport on Tuesday, and his return would be most welcome.
Matt Rhead an example of what the Blues need
In Matt Rhead, Lincoln possess someone who will cause real problems for National League defences. He's big, strong and tough: an old fashioned centre forward. Imps manager Chris Moyses won't make apologies for his team's route one tactics and nor should he because he's utilising Rhead's strengths to perfection.
We know Steve Burr won't send his team out with similar instructions and his commitment to a passing game is to be admired, but you can't help thinking how much better the Blues would be with someone similar to Rhead to partner Ross Hannah in atta
