Wrexham 2 Chester FC 0
Men against boys
It was probably always going to end this way, sadly; one look at the team sheet suggested as such.
Wrexham's line-up contained just one player under 28 and boasted an average age of 29. Compare that to Chester, whose average age was 23 and whose starting XI included a number of players with just a handful of National League appearances to their name.
But for 60 minutes you would never have guessed the gulf in experience that existed between the teams.
The Blues were more than a match for the Dragons and had Jordan Archer's turn-and-shot found the bottom corner, instead of trickling agonisingly wide, the outcome could well have been different. At that stage, the home crowd were beginning to get very restless.
But, from the moment Scott Quigley's drive nestled in the back of the net, there was only going to be one winner, and the 156th meeting between the clubs turned into a procession long before the final whistle.
The negatives
Marcus Bignot was right, therefore, to bemoan his young side's game management . As the Chester boss said himself, you could see Quigley's goal coming. But that begs the question, why wasn't a change made sooner?
In Bignot's defence, there didn't appear a player he could bring on in defence or midfield who could have slowed the game down and attempted to take the sting out of Wrexham's growing momentum. That's why the pre-match loss of Gary Roberts was such a blow.
But that is still no excuse for the goals Chester conceded. Andy Firth was making just his second appearance at National League level but the on-loan Liverpool goalkeeper will feel he should have got more of a hand to the Quigley goal that gave the Dragons the lead.
And, while the 702 Blues supporters cried 'offside' as Nicky Deverdics' strike hit the back of the net, replays show that the Wrexham winger was being played onside by Andy Halls.
There is no question that Chester's performances in recent weeks have merited more than the meagre points return they have yielded. But one constant - as has been the case all season - is the soft goals they continue to give away.
The positives
Neil Young got it spot-on after the match while speaking on Dee 106.3. The fantastic fundraising efforts of supporters has ensured that the club's immediate is secure. But, as treble title-winning manager Young pointed out on the radio, there is still a lot of more hard work to come.
The Blues will need to try to settle up contracts that, in all honesty, they can no longer afford, while at the same time constructing a brand new squad on a significantly smaller budget than the one that has been well and truly blown this season.
However, there are reasons to be positive. Tom Crawford showed glimpses of his undoubted class yesterday, certainly in the first half after he recovered from a shocking challenge from Sam Wedgbury, and tying the talented the midfielder down to a new contract, along with defender James Jones, is paramount.
Archer led the line well, although he should have kept a first-half header on target, and he is one of the players on two-year deals that the club will surely look to keep. Chester could also do a lot worse than trying to bring Shaun Hobson back, on this evidence.
So, all being well, there is the nucleus of a team in place for next season. But, as the Dragons proved, there is no substitute for experience.
When will we see you again?
The Blues are not down yet. But, let's face it, they are going to have to win at least five of their final nine games to stand any chance of surviving and, when you consider they have won just six all season, the task looks too tall.
So, in all likelihood, there will be at least a one-division gap between the cross-border rivals next season and, who knows, that could yet be two if Wrexham go on to win promotion back to the Football League.
Dean Keates' side are not particularly pretty on the eye but they are pretty effective and the fact that they have now kept a club-record 20 clean sheets from their 37 league matches so far this season is testament to just how well-drilled, and how well-organised they are.
But, as hard as it is to say, it is not only lessons on the field that Chester could learn from their neighbours. Both clubs are owned by their supporters but, at present, Wrexham are making the model work better.
And, as the last of the Blues supporters made their way out of the Racecourse, not knowing when they will return, it was hard to escape the sad feeling that it was all so unnecessary.
