CHESTER made it three in a row with a 5-1 home win over Rotherham on Saturday.

Stuart Field bagged a brace as Chester consolidated second place, keeping them on track for promotion.

They broke the deadlock 15 minutes in through Field and Sean Blaine doubled the lead shortly after.

Just before half-time, Stevie Hall finished a fantastic attacking move to leave Chester three up.

Poor marking at the start of the second half allowed Rotherham a goal but Field got his side back on track with an unstoppable drag flick from a penalty corner. Mat Hyden finished the scoring with a powerful, close strike to seal a handsome victory.

Chester Ladies beat Poynton 2-1. They looked stronger in the first half, with composed defending and sweeping attacking moves.

Midway through the half a well-disguised short corner sent theŠPoynton defence the wrong way, allowing Rachel Thomas to slip home the opening goal.

Poynton put the Chester defence under considerable pressure in the second half, and won a series of short corners which resulted in the equalising goal.Š

But Donna Jones neatly drilled home the winner following a short corner.

A fight to the end by the Ladies 2nds failed to grab maximum points from a 2-2 draw with Longbridge.

Against the run of play, the half-time score was 1-0 but after some great runs and passing moves in the second, Chester were awarded a penalty corner converted by Tracy Lynn. Chester rattled the net again when Siobhan Barnard lifted the ball over the keeper, but Longbridge scored a second.

An impressive second-half performance saw off Alderley Edge 3rds as Chester Men’s 3rds sailed to a 7-3 win.

In the second half, Chester produced their finest hockey of the year and kept control of the game under pressure.Š

Goals came from Steve Hughes (2), Dan Wilkinson (2), Oz, Warwick and Mike Cooper.ŠMan of the match was midfielder Steve Hughes.

The Ladies 3rds trounced Timperley 5-0 with powerful goals from Kat Hoey, Mandy Agnew, Hannah Morgan (2) and Charlotte Knott.

A settled Chester Men’s 5ths side beat Bowdon 8ths 6-3 with captain and MoM Dan Haynes scoring four. John Irving and Mark Smith also netted for the home side to cap a memorable victory.

Chester 6ths scraped a 1-0 win against Lymm 3rds thanks to a Greg Lowlor goal. On 20 minutes, Lowlor rounded the Lymm defence and sent the ball into the top of the net, helping to lift Chester off the bottom of the table. MoM was Jerry Winter.

Deeside Ramblers Ladies were shell- shocked to find themselves four goals down early in their match at Wigton.

The visitors had most of the possession and more strikes on goal, but Wigton netted four against the run of play, counter-attacking quickly on a fast pitch.

Undeterred, Deeside held their nerve and replied with two short-corner strikes from Su Baird and Deb Kay. They continued to test the opposition’s keeper but, as the minutes ticked away, defeat loomed.

Deeside hope to make amends at home to league leaders Sheffield tomorrow.

Deeside Ladies 2nds secured a 2-1 win at home against Crewe. Sophie Spedding scored the first goal, which was soon followed up with another by Helen Cartin.

In the men’s section, Ramblers’ 2nds lost a two-goal lead in a 3-2 defeat at Wigan.

Deeside were 2-0 up by half-time thanks to goals from Del Millard Smith and Joseph Conrad. Great work was seen from Martyn Lear and Tom Hill. Stuart Symms was dominant in the Deeside goal. But despite the efforts of Simon Younger and Matt Harle, a resurgent Wigan took the second half by three goals.