THE MATCH

As BBC Radio Merseyside's Neil Turner so eloquently put it, that was the footballing equivalent of an episode of Fawlty Towers.

Chester FC booked their place in round two of the FA Trophy after the craziest of games against Witton Albion.

James Alabi's penalty and a last-gasp winner from Elliott Durrell sealed the win for the Blues in a game dominated by a host of crazy refereeing decisions.

Witton took the lead after they were awarded a penalty after just six seconds, with Bradley Bauress converting after Lynch had saved.

But it was referee Joseph Johnson who took centre stage, first sending off Tolani Omotola at the end of the first half, Chester's Blaine Hudson in the second and Matthew Devine late on, sending Witton down to nine men,

Jon McCarthy decided to ring the changes for the visit of Carl Macauley's men, handing a first start to Will Marsh while there was also starts for Evan Horwood, Wade Joyce, Luke George and Matty Waters.

But any hopes Chester had of a good start were extinguished after just six seconds.

Tolani Omotola burst through the defence straight from kick off and was brought down by Blaine Hudson, with the Chester defender fortunate to see just a yellow.

Alex Lynch saved the penalty from Bauress but he couldn't prevent the ex-Blackburn Rovers man from stabbing home the rebound.

Lynch had to save at his near post from Omotola just minutes later as the Evo-Stik First Division North side came flying at a shell-shocked Blues side.

The Blues were careless in possession and disjointed for the opening half but did come close when Marsh hit the bar with a header while Michael Watson produced a fine last-ditch tackle to deny Jordan Chapell.

Witton looked comfortable but were dealt a blow just before the break when Omotola, already on a yellow for diving, inexplicably continued to argue with the referee after giving away a foul and was given his marching orders from referee Joseph Johnson.

The second half started in much the same vein, with Chester guilty of carelessness in possession.

Witton, as expected, sat deep and tried to soak up as much pressure as they could, prompting McCarthy to roll the dice and introduce Tom Shaw and Ryan Lloyd midway through the half, with Sam Hughes pushing up front to partner James Alabi.

Chester's task was made even more difficult when Hudson was shown a second yellow for a soft challenge on Tom Owens, with referee Johnson losing control of the contest.

Witton thought they had gone 2-0 up shortly after when Bauress's free kick on the far touchline evaded everyone and found the back of the nety. But the jubilation was short lived for Witton fans after the linesman flagged for a foul.

Witton coach Paul Moore was sent to the stands shortly afterwards after he made his displeasure known to the fourth official, and the ref wasn't finished yet.

Johnson showed his third red of the game to Matthew Devine after hauled down Shaw for a Chester penalty four minutes from time.

Alabi fired home the penalty via the underside of the crossbar to level matters as the Witton bench raged at the officlals.

Chester, now facing nine men, came at Witton for the dying minutes and snatched a winner at the death when Durrell raced on to a long ball before rounding Danny Roberts and sliding home.

It was a fitting end to a game filled with drama and controversy. It's hard to imagine seeing anything quite like this again.

ANALYSIS

Crazy. There are no other words.

A game that had two penalties (one after six seconds), three sendings off, three goals, a last minute winner and a coach sent to the stands. It had more drama than a Hollyoaks omnibus.

Chester were poor, very poor in fact, and the result was harsh on Witton, but this was a game that was worth every penny. Itr's hard to imagine seeing something like this again anytime soon, and I'm not too sure whether I would want to!

Those players on the fringes who needed to impress didn't do so, really, and that is a worry, but this game was crazy from start to finish.

Hopefully Saturday's visit of Aldershot will be a more sane affair.

STAR MAN

The ref: As awful as he was, he was the orchestrator of this craziness and a bonkers evening.

MATCH FILE

Chester: Lynch, Hughes, Astles, Hudson, Horwood, Waters (Shaw 62), Marsh (Durrell 46), Joyce, George (Lloyd 62), Chapell, Alabi. Subs: Roberts, Hunt.

Bookings: Hudson, Marsh, George, Durrell, Lloyd

Sent off: Hudson

Goals: Alabi 86 (pen), Durrell 90+2

Witton Albion: Roberts, Gardner, Devine, Wilson, Brown, Haywood, Noon, Owens, Hopley (Hickman 18), Omotola, Bauress. Subs: Lycett, Eves, Garner.

Bookings: Omotola, Devine, Roberts, Wilson

Sent off: Omotola, Devine

Goals: Bauress 1

Attendance 921

Referee: Joseph Johnson