For football fans Boxing Day isn't about hitting the sales or nursing a hangover from the night before, it's about the going to the match.

Christmas and New Year fixtures are a strong tradition in the English game and Chester FC have had a few memorable post-Turkey tussles over the years.

Back in 1964 more than 10,000 watched Blues beat Bradford Park Avenue 3-0 at Sealand Road with Jimmy Humes, Hughie Ryden and Micky Metcalf on target.

Through the 1970s and 1980s there were regular derbies with Wrexham, Crewe Alexandra and Tranmere Rovers, while during the 1990s the opposition came from a little further afield with games against the likes of West Bromwich Albion, Cardiff City and Hull City.

There has been a return to more local fixtures in recent seasons and ahead of this week's trip to Altrincham, The Chronicle has picked out five of the more memorable Boxing Day games:

What are your memories of Boxing Day games involving the Blues? Let us know in the comments below or tweet us @ChesterFC_Chron.

Chester City 2 Hereford United 1 (2000)

Steve Whitehall's stunning late strike secured Chester an overdue home win in the proverbial game of two halves in front of a crowd of 2,244.

Graham Barrow's side bossed the opening 45 minutes and went into the break with a deserved lead after Mark Beesley exchanged passes with Whitehall before firing past Bulls keeper Scott Cooksey.

Hereford improved after the restart with Wayne Brown far busier and the keeper conceded a penalty with 11 minutes to go after bringing down Michael McIndoe, which Chris Lane hammered home to level the scores.

Chester finished the stronger and with more minutes left on the clock Whitehall took a pass from Matt Doughty, turned and chipped a shot over Cooksey to win the game.

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

Steve Whitehall scored a late winner against Hereford on Boxing Day 2000
Steve Whitehall scored a late winner against Hereford on Boxing Day 2000

Chester City 5 Leigh RMI 0 (2003)

Darryn Stamp's hat-trick crowned an exceptional performance from Mark Wright's side in front of 3,044 fans during the Football Conference title winning campaign.

Daryl Clare opened the scoring when he pounced on a defensive mistake before lashing a shot into the top corner and Stamp added the second when he finished off a cross from Carl Regan.

Stamp made it 3-0 before half-time as the visitors struggled to cope under a barrage of pressure and the centre foward beat two defenders before steering the ball into the net.

Leigh rarely threatened and it was no surprise when the Blues got a fourth midway through the second period as Stamp turned in Kevin McIntyre's cross to complete his hat-trick. Four minutes from time, replacement Kevin Rapley finished the scoring when he converted a cross from fellow substitute Michael Twiss.

Chester: McCaldon, Regan, Ruffer, Guyett, Collins, McIntyre, Carden, Carey, Smith (Davies), Clare (Rapley), Stamp (Twiss).

Daryl Clare hits the post against Leigh on Boxing Day 2003
Daryl Clare hits the post against Leigh on Boxing Day 2003

Morecambe 5 Chester City 3 (2007)

Not the right result from a Blues perspective, but this thriller produced eight goals with more than 500 Chester fans making the trip to Christie Park.

Kevin Ellison gave the visitors the perfect start when he rocketed a free-kick past Joe Lewis in the fifth minute but the Shrimps hit back to score three unanswered goals in the next 20 minutes, taking advantage of some dire defending.

Jim Bentley and Garry Thompson beat John Danby with headers before Matty Blinkhorn poked home after the keeper had denied ex-Chester defender Dave Artell. And the hosts added a fourth before half-time when Bentley headed against the post and Carl Baker was on hand to finish off the rebound.

Bobby Williamson's men tried to get back on terms but the game was over when Bentley netted his second with 20 minutes left, although there was still time for Ellison to score again and substitute Chris Holroyd to pull another back.

Chester: Danby, Marples, Linwood, Butler, Vaughan, Partridge, Roberts, Hughes, Ellison, Rule (Holroyd), Murphy (Yeo).

Kevin Ellison netted a brace at Morecambe in the 2007 Boxing Day clash
Kevin Ellison netted a brace at Morecambe in the 2007 Boxing Day clash

Northwich Victoria 1 Chester FC 1 (2011)

The Blues kept themselves three points clear at the Evo-Stik League Premier Division summit after a tempestuous derby featuring three red cards ended level.

In front of a bumper crowd of 2,864, Neil Young’s table-toppers took a 13th-minute lead through Wes Baynes after Northwich keeper Ben Hinchcliffe was sent off. The hosts did not have a back-up keeper on the bench but after Michael Powell was dismissed to even up the numbers, they grabbed a point when substitute Ryan Wade struck in the 78th minute.

From a seemingly unassailable position, Chester were forced to hold on in the dying stages after Baynes became their second player to receive his marching orders.

Young had no complaints over the decision to send Baynes off but was absolutely furious at the nature of his captain’s dismissal after Powell raised his hands to Vics defender John Disney but looked to have escaped punishment until the linesman on the opposite side of the pitch intervened.

Chester: Danby, Baynes, Smith, Taylor, Brownhill, Sarcevic, Brown, Powell, Howard, McNeil, Wilde (Simm (Booth )).

Northwich's stand-in keeper Lewis Short can only watch as he fails to deal with Wes Baynes' free-kick
Northwich's stand-in keeper Lewis Short can only watch as he fails to deal with Wes Baynes' free-kick

Chester FC 5 Droylsden 0

Three superb first-half strikes sent the table-topping Blues on their way to a 10th straight Conference North success with 2,934 fans cheering them on.

Wes Baynes and Antoni Sarcevic fired in unstoppable free kicks before Marc Williams brought a touch of class to proceedings with a cute and clever finish that ensured the game was effectively over as a contest by half-time.

Top scorer Ben Mills and Craig Curran struck after the restart to seal a comfortable victory that maintained Chester’s 12-point lead at the top of the table and kept them on course for a third straight title and promotion.

Chester: Danby, Baynes, Horan, Linwood, McGinn, Curran, A Williams (Brown), Sarcevic (Howard), D Williams, M Williams, Mills (Jarman ).

Craig Curran, who scored on Boxing Day 2012, celebrates with Ben Mills and Danny Williams
Craig Curran, who scored on Boxing Day 2012, celebrates with Ben Mills and Danny Williams