This unconvincing and nerve-wracking victory over a side rooted at the wrong end of the division illustrated the good and bad in Chester FC.
Steve Burr's side controlled proceedings for an hour, scoring twice through James Roberts and Johnny Hunt and seemed to be strolling home
However, too often this season the Blues have allowed opponents back into games and it happened again here.
Halifax's limited arsenal created almost nothing until Chester invited them forward and Jordan Burrow's goal with 17 minutes remaining ensured another tense finish.
Chester held on for the points, and a win is of course a win, but it was far tougher than it needed to be and better teams won't let them off the hook.
Re-read: Chester FC v Halifax live blog
Talking points
James Roberts: One cannot begin to imagine what the 19-year-old has been through in the past fortnight and to produce the performance did is testament to his remarkable courage and strength of character.
Roberts' intelligent movement, willingness to come deep for the ball and quick bursts of acceleration caused the Halifax defence endless trouble and there was no more deserving scorer of the first goal, even before taking into the circumstances surrounding his return.
His afternoon ended on 53 minutes and although the second goal came soon after that, there's no question losing Roberts damaged the Blues. We must now wait to discover the extent of his hamstring injury, but one fears that could be the last we see of an exciting prospect for a while.
Putting games to bed: It's perhaps no great surprise that a team not used to winning football matches this season never seems far off throwing it down the drain. That ruthlessness of being able to kill a game off and put the opposition to bed is often what separates the good teams from the average.
Six points from two games with teams fighting and scrapping for points at the wrong end of the table is the perfect return, but both could have finished in defeat. Chester managed to get themselves home in both cases, and that does show resolve, but the next step is to develop a killer instinct that avoids these needlessly nail-biting endings.
Match facts
Chester FC: Worsnop, Heneghan, Sharps, Kay, Higgins, Rooney (Hughes 90), Shaw, Mahon, Hunt, Roberts (Richards 53), Hannah (Hobson 90).
Subs: Forth, Chapell.
Goals: Roberts 44, Hunt 55.
FC Halifax Town: Glennon, Bolton, N Brown, M Brown, Banton (Roberts 46), McManus, James, Wroe, Sadlier (Bencherif 84), Burrow, Hamilton (Tuton 46).
Subs: Porter, MacDonald.
Booked: James, Tuton, Roberts.
Goal: Burrow 73.
Referee: Ollie Yates (Staffordshire)
Attendance: 2,088.
Verdict
After a tricky period, the Blues have recorded back-to-back wins for the first time since the start of the campaign and can start to look upwards
Wins over Southport and Halifax – two sides who are not toward the bottom of the National League without reason – won't cause anyone to get over excited and in both cases the performance has been fragmented.
It is however a step in the right direction and, in the first-half, there were signs of encouragement and the look a team that was beginning to gel, although that wasn't the case after the break as the wheels came off the track.
There's positives for the manager to work with over the coming weeks and months as the Blues strive to climb the table, but the negatives need to be sorted out sooner rather than later if improving on last season's finish is going to be a realistic goal.
