John Rooney’s wonder strike helped Chester FC battle their way to 1-1 pre-season draw with Cheshire neighbours Crewe Alexandra.
Rooney’s 25-yard stunner in the 67th minute cancelled out the opener from Crewe’s Chris Atkinson on 28 minutes in what was an open encounter with plenty of attacking endeavour from both sides.
Jon McCarthy was the man on the touchline for the Blues, with boss Steve Burr away, with the home side starting with transfer-listed John Danby in goal.
The Blues started brightly and Kingsley James and trialist George Thomson both went close with 20-yard efforts in the opening five minutes.
But it was Crewe who should have taken the lead as early as the sixth minute, the impressive right-back Matt Tootle finding himself gifted plenty of room on the edge of the Blues 18-yard box after receiving a pass from Cameron Lancaster. But Tootle snatched at his opportunity and fired into the side netting when he really should have found the back of the net.
Crewe began to grow into the game and came close in the 17th minute, Danby forced into a smart diving save to his left from a Lancaster effort from the edge of the box before Oliver Turton shot wide from a similar position two minutes later.
The Blues should have taken the lead on 25 minutes when Craig Mahon played a superb ball into the six-yard-area to Chris Iwelumo but the big Scotsman poked the ball high and wide when left unmarked.
Jamie Menagh then clipped the top of the visitors bar from 20 yards following good work from Thomson and Mahon.
It was 1-0 to the visitors just a minute later, a long ball expertly brought under control on the Blues dead-ball line by Tootle who played the ball back to Lancaster who, in turn, slid in the ball to Chris Atkinson who sidefooted past Danby from 12 yards.
The Railwaymen pressured the Blues backline as Turton fired over before Danby had to keep out a Brad Inman effort.
Menagh glanced a header wide from a Mahon delivery on 40 minutes but the Blues couldn’t find a leveller in the first half.
The Blues rang the changes at half-time, Sean McConville, Michael Kay, Danny Taylor, Craig Hobson and Freddy Hall replacing Rooney, Kieron Charnock, John Disney, Iwelumo and Danby entering the fray.
McConville saw his effort well saved by Shearer for the Blues while Atkinson went close with a free kick for Crewe and Hall was forced into action to deny Inman from close range.
But it was Rooney’s 67th minute effort that was the highlight of the game, the midfielder bending an effort from the left hand side of the pitch from fully 25-yards out into the far right corner of Shearer’s goal.
After that, the game went quiet with trialists Bohan Dixon and Jack Rea getting a run out.
McConville should have put the Blues 2-1 up 10 minutes from time when he dispossessed Perry Ng before racing away from the Crewe backline before Ng recovered just as the striker was going to pull the trigger from 12 yards.
Callum Saunders, son of ex-Wales striker Dean, should have grabbed the win for the Railwaymen when he pinched the ball off Matty Brown before rounding Hall and shooting into the side netting.
A decent performance from the Blues against a strong League One side in Crewe. Next up is t he visit of Burnley U21s on Tuesday (7pm).
Chester FC first half : Danby; Disney, Charnock, Brown, Roberts; Rooney, James, Mahon, Menagh; Thomson; Iwelumo.
Chester FC second half: Hall; Taylor, Brown, Kay, Roberts; McConville, Rooney, James, Menagh; Thomson, Hobson.
Referee: Mr Peter Bankes.
Assistants: Mr Barry Lumb, Mr Matt Donohue.
Attendance: 1,134
