Southport 3 Chester City 2

Nationwide Conference, Tuesday 21st August 2001

Chester City went down to a first minute goal for the second time in a week as they were defeated by local rivals Southport at High Avenue tonight. Phil Wilson will be pleased that his side have got to a good start, but in truth they made heavy weather of this contest.

From the kick off Southport pressed forward. A free kick just in side the Chester half is meat and drink to dead ball specialist Gary Bauress. He launched the ball into the box. Shaun Teale stooped to head the ball in to the net for his second goal of the season after 51 seconds. An improvement for Chester as it took Woking 50 seconds at the weekend to beat the Chester back line.

Three minutes later, Bauress fired over the bar with his back to goal following good work down the left from full back Chris Lane. In truth it was all Southport at this stage. But ten minutes in there was some resistance from Chester City, with Mark Beesley who fired a weak effort goal wards into the arms of home keeper Steve Dickinson after ten minutes.

On twelve minutes Beesley beat the off side trap down the near touch line he crossed for Sammy Hill, who did not endear himself to the travelling contingent from Cheshire, as he strayed offside. Hill had been booed from the kick off by the Chester City fans, by virtue of the fact that he is manger Gordon Hill’s son. The Chester City pantomime has shown no sign of abating neither during the summer nor today with the Chester fans chanting the name of their former manager Graham Barrow, sacked in the summer by their absentee chairman Terry Smith in the summer. Ironically Barrow was amongst the crowd tonight on a scouting mission for Rochdale.

Chris Malkin Chester City’s summer signing from Telford United had his first and last contribution to the game on 16 minutes when he tamely headed towards goal. A minute later he was replaced by substitute Darren Wright, after a recurrence of the injury that kept him out the game on Saturday.

Seventeen minutes gone and full back Carl McCauley fired a shot on to the cross bar following good work down the right by Lane. Three minutes later Southport’s Simon Parke headed wide as Southport sought to convert the sustained pressure of the first half into goals.

Chester City’s Michael Rose became the first player to be booked on 23 minutes following a poor tackle on Lee Elam. Southport’s Elam was becoming more and more of a threat to Chester City as the half wore on but was sloppy as he flashed a weak header wide of the post.

Elam was again involved with two minutes to half time as he played in Simon Parke down the left who unleashed a shot which was miss kicked by Michael Rose over his own bar. This was to be the last chance of the first half as Southport went in at the break good value for their one goal lead.

Three minutes into the second half Elam and Southport started where they had left off on the attack. Elam’s jinking run turned the Chester defence in side out but on this occasion he fired straight at the keeper.

The feeling was that Southport would rue the chances they had squandered in the first half and this was the case when Mark Beesley equalised after 51 minutes with a glancing header past the stranded Southport keeper Steve Dickinson following good work by Michael Rose down the left. It had been an eventful day for Michael Rose and it was more so seven minutes later when he was sent off for a second bookable offence following a clumsy challenge on Steve Jones.

The inevitable Southport goal came on 67 minutes following two earlier chances for Elam and Jones to score they resorted to a less conventional route. Steve Jones flicked a long kick by keeper Steve Dickinson, into the path of Simon Parke who flicked the ball over the on rushing Chester keeper Wayne Brown.

Then it was a case of hero turned villain on two counts. Referee Mr Russell Tiffin who up until this moment at had a reasonable game but obviously did not want to be outdone by his more illustrious colleague David Elleray. Simon Parke was booked on 74 minutes for kicking the ball away after the referee had blown for which he could have no complaints. Less than a minute later Parke was put through by Elam, unfortunately he was marginally offside. It obvious to all and sundry that he had not heard the whistle, and like all good strikers he rounded the keeper to score, what he thought was Southport’s winner. It was not to be the goal was disallowed and he was booked again for time wasting and with it he received a red card.

With numerical parity restored Southport did not rest on their laurels on 77 minutes they put the game beyond Chester with a goal from new boy Steve Jones following good work by Lee Elam, to make it three – one. It was to Jones’ last contribution as he was hurt in the lead up to the goal and was replaced on 79 minutes by terrace cult hero Ben O’Bong – likened by the home fans to Paulo Wanchope.

With five minutes of added time to play, the loudest cheer of the night was reserved for Graham Barrow who left before he could see his former club grab another consolation goal. Steve Rose, brother of Michael fired in a free kick which Dickinson could only fumble at the feet of Darren Wright who pounced to give Chester a second goal but it was all in vain as the referee blew his whistle soon after.

Chester’s problems continue and they look like they are in free fall. They certainly have the players to stave of relegation but it is obvious that do not wish to play for the current regime. All in all they lacked shape and coherence. For Southport it’s a useful start for new manger Phil Wilson who has seemingly going the right way blending his own players with ones from the previous manager. They should not be too far from the top six this season.

ATT – 1554

* This report previously appeared on the now defunct website Pyramid Football