Chorley 3, Chester 0: Magpies finally break 10-man Seals' brave resistance
A much-anticipated clash between Chorley and Chester at Victory Park quickly turned into a mammoth task for the visitors when they were reduced to 10 men.
With just nine minutes on the clock, Jack Bainbridge was shown a straight red card for a late lunge which caught Billy Whitehouse.
Chorley immediately looked to capitalise on having a man advantage, pushing forward in numbers and carving out opportunities.
Mark Ellis forced Andrew Wogan into a save with a header, while Jack Sampson and Tom Carr both sent efforts narrowly off target.
The pressure continued right up to the interval. George Horbury thought he had broken the deadlock when he met Adam Blakeman’s cross with a firm header, only for James Jones to clear off the line and keep Chester in the contest.
The breakthrough finally came six minutes after the restart. Warren Clarke’s deep delivery was cushioned down by Adam Henley, falling kindly for Mike Calveley to place the ball home from close range.
Just moments later the lead was doubled, Clarke flicking on another Henley cross for Sampson to smash home on the volley, his second goal in as many matches.
Right on the hour mark, the Magpies added a third, Henley was again involved as his cross was turned into the net by defender Tom Leak from Sampson’s initial header.
From that point, the hosts controlled proceedings. Substitute Jack Moore went close late on with a venomous shot from range, while Calveley struck the bar from a cross in stoppage time.