Blues Match Report: Chester FC 1 - 0 Altrincham

Chester FC's penultimate pre-season fixture saw them pick up a tight victory over Altrincham, with Nathan Woodthorpe netting the only goal of the game from close-range.

It was a slow start at the Deva with both sides having very few sights of goal in the opening stages.

Kurt Willoughby looked lively on his return to CH1 and combined well with Charlie Caton on multiple occasions.

It was that partnership that brought the first chance as Willoughby flicked the ball into Caton’s path but his effort was blocked on the edge of the box.

Just moments later, Joe Nuttall latched on to the ball on the edge of the box and fired a volleyed effort which beat Cam Mason but smashed back off the woodwork to safety.

The period before half-time produced a flurry of chances, starting with a drilled strike by Caton which tested Ethan Ross in the Altrincham goal.

Willoughby had the final chance of the half, but his low shot was palmed behind by Ross.

The second half began just like the first, with limited opportunities for both teams.

Nathan Woodthorpe broke the deadlock mid-way through the half, pouncing on a bouncing ball after a goal-mouth scramble that saw Weeks and Caton both have efforts blocked on the line before the left-back tapped it into the empty net.

Good work from Glendon led to the goal and the captain had a positive impact on the contest after his return from injury.

Caton continued to cause problems for the Alty defence until he was replaced by Oskar Rosenblatt with ten minutes remaining.

The visitors attempted to draw level late on but there was very few clear sights of goal throughout the match and Mason was rarely tested in the home goal. 

It was a very solid performance from the Seals ahead of a final pre-season test against Macclesfield next week, before Calum McIntyre takes his players to Spennymoor for the opening game of our National League North campaign.

Match Report by Tom Bird.

CHESTER: Mason, Hunter (Roberts 61′), Williams, Pollock, Woodthorpe (Heywood 73′), Bainbridge, Murray (Glendon 61′), Hancox, Caton (Rosenblatt 80′), Turner, Willoughby (Weeks 61′).

SUBS NOT USED: Brown, Daly.

SCORERS: Woodthorpe 67′

ATTENDANCE: 926