A STRONG away following couldn’t cheer Warrington Town to victory as they went down 2-0 at Chester.
Declan Weeks struck the hosts in to a 12th minute lead and they retained an element of control throughout, having not conceded a goal at home since the start of October and securing an eighth game unbeaten.
Deep in to injury time, as the Yellows chased the game, a clearance struck Charlie Caton, and the substitute was able to roll the ball in to the empty net to seal the win.
With Chester due to visit Warrington in the reverse fixture on New Year’s Day, there was a crowd of 2,897, which included 359 Yellows fans, their biggest travelling contingent since the opening day of the season.
They didn’t have a great deal to cheer about as a change in system backfired and the Yellows found themselves second best for much of the first half. There was a return from suspension for Bohan Dixon and Peter Clarke returned to the starting line-up as part of a back three.
The otherwise unfazed Andre Wisdom was caught out by Kole Hall on 12 minutes, the winger getting outside him and pulling a ball back that was only cleared as far as Weeks, who struck a low drive through a few bodies from near to the penalty spot for 1-0.
Chester marshalled Josh Amis and Isaac Buckley-Ricketts well up front, though Buckley-Ricketts did lash on to a Mitch Duggan flick on only to be smothered by the otherwise redundant Wyll Stanway.
Despite relative control, Chester themselves didn’t create a great deal, Hall having a shot that was acrobatically parried away by Atherton.
The Yellows did eventually revert to a more familiar system and they did see more of the game after the break, without really creating anything clear cut, Amis lashing a shot wide from a narrow angle.
Atherton twice denied Weeks with low saves and Hall drilled a low shot just wide of the far post. At the other end, only a drive from Sean Williams went close as the Yellows’ challenge petered out before Caton added icing on the cake with virtually the last kick of the game.
The two sides go again in front of an expected sell out crowd at Cantilever Park on Monday.
Chester: Stanway, Weeks, Burke, Williams, Glendon (Murray), Whitehouse, Windsor (Caton), Hall, Coates, Roberts, Edwards. Unused subs: Taylor, Norton, Sparrow.
Warrington Town: Atherton, White (Grivosti), Hannigan, Harris (McDonald), Williams, Amis, Dixon, Buckley-Ricketts, Duggan (Popoola), Wisdom, Clarke. Unused subs: Goudie, Walker.
Action shots from the Leap76 Stadium ⬇️
Time to dust ourselves down and get ready for the next one! 💪
📸 @sean_walsh153 pic.twitter.com/rnsoMXtUBk
— Warrington Town FC (@theyellows) December 27, 2023
Thank you for the tremendous support at the Leap76 Stadium 💛🗣️
👊 See you on New Year's Day! pic.twitter.com/20yXjW5p36
— Warrington Town FC (@theyellows) December 27, 2023
🟡 @theyellows lost 2-0 at #ChesterFC today in @TheVanaramaNL North
🗣️ @MarkBees30 spoke to Neil Turner after the game
#⃣ #TheVanarama #TotalSport pic.twitter.com/0CEwH8A0bX
— BBC Sport Merseyside (@bbcmerseysport) December 26, 2023
