AFC Telford 1 Chester 2 - Report

Chester deservedly claimed all three points on an afternoon when the Bucks resembled a theatre company who have been remembering all their lines and cues in front of an empty auditorium, but who were affected by ‘first night nerves’ once an audience were present.

Manager Gavin Cowan described his side as being ‘a bit powder-puff’ in their approach, and Anthony Johnson, joint manager of the victorious visitors, described the second half as ‘a bit bizarre’, feeling that the home side played into his own team’s hands by sitting off them and allowing them to play.

An unchanged Bucks side from that which exited the FA Trophy at Darlington a week earlier made the slower start, and Chester looked the more purposeful team in the opening stages.

Winger Brad Jackson, once a rumoured Telford target a couple of seasons ago, was a prominent figure and had the first effort on goal – a low shot pushed around his right post for a corner by former team-mate Russ Griffiths.

The keeper was soon busy again, holding Seals skipper George Glendon’s 20-yarder, while Courtney Meppen-Walters was similarly occupied, frequently the barrier in the way of Jackson’s deliveries from wide positions.

With the Seals looking the side more likely to strike first, the visitors must have been shaken somewhat to concede first on 18 minutes.

The Bucks hadn’t given the largely partisan home crowd much to enjoy, but nine months’ worth of frustration poured forth when they attacked down the right and a low cross bypassed James Hardy at the near post before being joyously dispatched home by Aaron Williams – the striker’s sixth goal in his last three matches struck home off the inside of keeper Louis Gray’s right post as the No.9 timed his run perfectly.

Williams drew the applause in an emotional moment, but sadly that was to be as good as it got for the Bucks.

Cowan expressed his disappointment after the game that his team didn’t use the goal as a platform to show what they are capable of, and instead the visitors responded in impressively positive fashion.

Midfielder Declan Weeks jumped on to a loose ball created by good pressure and fired inches wide from 20 yards, Griffiths barely moving as the shot hurtled to his left.

Jackson then created a heading opportunity for striker Anthony Dudley, but his delivery was marginally too high for Dudley and he directed his effort over the angle of post and bar.

Dudley was soon to help cut the Bucks open for the equaliser, however.

With 27 minutes gone, the Bucks conceded a free-kick and with the home side seemingly all switching off, Glendon took the kick quickly and went for a return pass from Dudley. The striker’s deft touch put Glendon in alone against Griffiths and with only one outcome, Glendon finishing the move under the keeper for a goal scored at break-neck speed.

Level-pegging was the least the Seals deserved, and Jackson’s deflected shot kept the flow of traffic largely one-way. The winger was to depart the action in first-half injury time, replaced like-for-like by John Johnston, after going down injured seconds before tHardy almost put his side back in front.

Cutting in from the left, Hardy’s rising shot from just inside the box was aimed for the top nearside corner and would have located it had Gray not stretched out a strong hand to turn the ball away for a corner.

After a half where they had appeared to pay Chester a little too much respect, the Bucks might have been expected to look more assertive in the second half, but instead they retreated further into their shells, allowing Chester space and time to play.

Rain that had arrived during the interval should have allowed the Bucks to move the ball with more zip, but they simply didn’t have the ball often enough, inviting Chester to play further up the field.

Dom McHale did strike a free-kick from 25 yards just wide as the hour mark approached, and he had another opportunity from closer range in the 65th minute when the ball ran to him after Hardy’s darting run was ended unceremoniously; however, McHale perhaps saw his name up in lights before delivering his lines and hastily fired his angled shot over the crossbar.

That proved costly barely two minutes later. Seals substitute Johnston made ground on the left and when his low cross cut out everyone bar Dudley, the forward corralled the ball before placing it low and back across the covering players on the line to find the net.

How would the Bucks respond to that blow? In truth, they didn’t.

They seemed to lack ideas as to how to get back into the contest and former Bucks skipper Simon Grand and defensive colleague Danny Livesey swept up most of what they could offer.

Cowan lamented that few of his players showed enough leadership and desire to get on the ball, and although Jack Byrne notably tried to do so, too few of those around him responded.

Jason Oswell replaced Jordan Davies, who had faded from the contest, and Meppen-Walters did get a header at goal from a far-post cross in injury time, but Gray was otherwise untroubled as the Seals saw the game out far more comfortably than they might have expected to.