Altrincham and Chester FC will do battle this weekend for a place in the first round of the FA Cup.

Failing to progress past the fourth qualifying round not only ends hopes of a glamour draw further down the line for non-league clubs, but hits them in the pocket too.

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Will the Blues beat Altrincham and reach the FA Cup first round?

Chester's fortunes at this stage have been mixed over the years with cracking away days, forgettable defeats and the odd horror show thrown in for good measure.

The Chronicle has picked out out five of the more memorable games in recent seasons.

Easington Colliery 0 Chester City 2 (October 28, 2000)

Following relegation from the Football League in 2000, Chester entered the qualifying stages for the first time in 70 years with a long trek to the former mining town in the north east.

Madcap owner Terry Smith had put the club up for sale a week earlier and the sight of the American standing on the clubhouse roof at the sparse Welfare Ground is my abiding memory of the game.

Graham Barrow's team produced a professional if unspectacular performance in blustery conditions to record a 2-0 victory and set up a first round tie with Plymouth Argyle, going on to meet Blackburn Rovers in the third round.

The Blues took an early lead through striker Steve Whitehall but despite controlling the match had to wait until seven minutes from time for forward Mark Beesley to wrap up the win.

Chester: Brown, Lancaster, Ruffer, P Beesley, Woods, Doughty, Carden, Blackburn (Fisher), Porter, M Beesley, Whitehall.

Radciffe Borough 2 Chester City 4 (October 26, 2002)

The positioning of a beer tent in the corner of the ground means recollections of the trip to Stainton Park are vague for most Chester fans.

Mark Wright's men dominated possession in the first-half but struggled to open up the hosts and the visiting fans began to fear a giant-killing was on the cards, particularly with non-league dangerman Jody Banim a growing influence.

Wright give his team a kick up the backside during the break and it worked as Ryan Sugden headed the Blues into the lead and the forward added a quick-fire second as the Blues took a firm grip on the game before turning provider when his cross found Dave Cameron, who made it 3-0.

Banim got one back when his stunning free-kick flew past Wayne Brown but hopes of a comeback were extinguished when Sugden broke clear to complete his hat-trick before Richard Landon netted a last minute consolation for Borough.

The Blues went on to win 1-0 at Colchester United in the next round but suffered a disappointing defeat at Morecambe in round two.

Chester: W Brown, Guyett, Bolland, Hatswell, Brady (M Brown), Davies, Carden, Blackburn, McIntyre, Tate (Cameron), Sugden (Ruffer).

Hat-trick hero Ryan Sugden celebrates scoring at Radcliffe
Hat-trick hero Ryan Sugden celebrates scoring at Radcliffe

Blyth Spartans 0 Chester City 1 (October 25, 2003)

Again the Blues found themselves travelling up the M1 in search of a place in the first round proper and in Spartans faced a team with a dangerous FA Cup pedigree.

It was tough going for Chester with keeper Ian McCaldon being required to make a number of important saves to keep the hosts out with Ian Foster going closest for the Blues. Spartans fell behind against the run of play in the final stages of the first period as Darryn Stamp's knockdown found Daryl Clare and 'Deadly' drilled his shot past Craig Turns and into the bottom corner for his first goal of the season.

Mark Wright's side were second best for the rest of the game but soaked up the Blyth pressure well and held on for the victory in front of 1,105 supporters at Croft Park.

Chester's reward was a home tie with Gravesend & Northfleet at the next stage but an uninspiring 1-0 defeat ended their interest in the competition.

Chester: McCaldon, Collins, Bolland, Ruffer (Guyett), Heard, Davies, Carey, Twiss, Foster (Brady), Clare (Rapley), Stamp.

Darren Stamp is beaten in the air by Blyth's Colin Morton
Darren Stamp is beaten in the air by Blyth's Colin Morton

Chester City 0 Barrow 4 (October 27, 2009)

Having secured a 1-1 draw at Holker Street in the initial game thanks to a goal from Johnny Flynn, the Blues were pretty confident of progressing through this replay at the Deva Stadium.

However, those hopes vanished in a disastrous final 20 minutes as the Bluebirds scored four times without reply to condemn Jim Harvey's team to defeat. The Blues had the better of the first-half with Chester-born keeper Stuart Tomlinson saving from Flynn and Kevin Roberts, and Lloyd Ellams spurned an excellent chance early in the second period.

Barrow punished them in the 73rd minute when Andy Bond crashed a shot past John Danby after Tim Ryan had been penalised for a back-pass and Jason Walker doubled the lead from the penalty spot a couple of minutes later. Bond's header made it 3-0 on 77 minutes as the hosts imploded and a miserable evening was completed when Andy Cook added the fourth late on.

Chester's season would go from bad to worse, winning just two more games before the club was expelled from the Football Conference and later wound-up in the High Court.

Chester: Danby, Roberts, Ryan, Barry (Ellams), Lea (Owen), Ashton, Keltie, Coulson, Beesley, Flynn, Kay.

Chester's Lloyd Ellams chases after the ball against Barrow
Chester's Lloyd Ellams chases after the ball against Barrow

Stockport County 2 Chester FC 4 (October 25, 2014)

Ex-Stockport forward Sean McConville was cast as the pantomime villain in an enthralling clash at Edgeley Park that produced six goals and two red cards.

Steve Burr's team, backed by a noisy travelling support, were well in control with a two goal lead at the end of the first half after goals from McConville and Matty Hughes.

County stormed out of the traps in the second period and had cancelled out that lead within four minutes through Kristian Dennis and Scott Spencer.

McConville restored the lead with his second and Ben Heneghan headed home a fourth as the Blues wrestled back control before tempers flared late on with McConville again involved, copping a punch to the face that led to the aggressor Dennis and Michael Kay, who took the law into his own hands, being dismissed.

Chester claimed a Football League scalp in the next round with a 1-0 win at Southend United before holding Barnsley to a goalless draw at Oakwell in round two, losing out 3-0 in the replay.

Chester: Worsnop, Heneghan, Kay, Charnock, G Roberts, Mahon, Rooney, James, McConville (Brown), Hughes (Menagh), Hobson.

Ben Heneghan celebrates the fourth goal at Stockport
Ben Heneghan celebrates the fourth goal at Stockport