Chester had a chance to take the lead as early as the third minute when a McIntyre free kick was taken low towards the bottom left of goal with no interception from a Margate defender.  Phil Smith though was on hand to put the ball behind for a corner.

It was Brady who put the corner in high across the box and Danny Collins rose above the crowd and was unlucky to see his header go over the crossbar.  A minute later Foster had a shot at goal which went just over after receiving a good ball from Stamp.

At the other end Greg Oates created his own chance for Margate from midfield but after jinking past the midfield found his shot blocked by Danny Collins.

Chester pushed forward again and Brady made a good run down the left from midfield but his shot was parried to safety by Phil Smith in the Margate goal, who was to play a big part in keeping the deficit reasonably respectable from a Margate point of view.

After a bright start the game entered a quiet spell and became a midfield battle for much of the remainder of the half.  Openings were made at both ends but they were generally to be half chances as both defences were well organised.

Brady had a shot over in the 23d minute after a quick knock-on from Stamp from a Ben Davies cross. Four minutes later at the other end and Pulman could have had a goal for Margate after pouncing on a loose ball but Wayne Brown was on hand to block his shot.

On the half hour mark Phil Bolland received a yellow card for a foul on Stadhart right on the edge of the box and right in front of goal. Most Chester players were involved in the defensive wall and it was no surprise therefore when the free kick was blocked by the wall and cleared upfield to safety.

Ben Davies then won a corner which was eventually cleared after a bit of a scramble in the Margate box.

Margate won their first corner of the game in the 38th minute. Clarke played it inswinging across goal.  Sam Sodje, who trialled for Chester during the pre-season friendlies, was there to take his revenge for not being signed and headed it cleanly past a diving Wayne Brown to give Margate a 1-0 lead against the general run of play.

Two minutes before the interval though, Chester equalised to give the scoreline a more accurate representation of the game.  It was Darryn Stamp with another headed goal from 6 yards out on the left from a cross by Brady on the right.  And so the teams went it with the scores even at half time, and although Chester had much of the first half possession they had not made this reflect itself in the scoreline.

Into the second half then and 3 Chester corners in 3 minutes.  On 50 minutes Chester won a corner which Brady played across goal. Danny Collins tried to get a header but the ball was just out of reach and floated harmlessly away.

Then Harris from midfield fed the ball through to Foster whose shot was parried behind by Smith for a second corner.  This was taken by Brady and headed goalwards by Danny Collins but again Phil Smith denied the blues by putting the ball behind for another corner.  At the third attempt though, McIntyre's corner was cleared away.

On 56 minutes Margate could have taken the lead again when Oates on the right wing played a good cross into Stadhart who headed just over.

In a reversal of the free kick in the first half Carden received an elbow from Keister and the blues were rewarded a free kick as a result right in front of goal.  McIntyre, Davies and Brady all stood around and as we waited for a set piece the ball was simply blasted straight into the wall by McIntyre.

Shortly afterwards Chester won yet another corner and Brady's cross was cleared away only as far as Davies but as he played the ball forwards it was again cleared by Margate who were still defending in numbers from the corner.

On the 68th minute Chester made their first substitution of the game with Michael Twiss coming on for Andy Harris, who had been generally quiet in midfield.  The game was to come immediately to life but not in front of the Margate goal.

At the other end Kwasi knocked the ball down for Stodhart who quickly and decisively played an excellent shot from 18 yards out, only to be denied by the join of the crossbar and the upright.  At the other end though Twiss was immediately in the thick of things and had a header on target from a Brady cross again saved well by Phil Smith.  Smith's luck was about to run out though.

Again it was Twiss on the left who played in a low cross which outwitted two Margate defenders.  Stamp met the cross and directed it loosely towards goal but Jon Brady was on hand to finish the manoeuvre off and knocked it home from close range in the 70th minute. 2-1 Chester.

Chester won another corner on 76 and Brady's original cross was cleared only to be put back into the danger area again by Foster but his cross was too close to the keeper who was on hand to collect it.

Margate were still looking for something out of the game and almost immediately at the other end Oates put in a cross from the right looking for Kwashi but he had played the ball too far forward and fortunately it went harmlessly into the side netting.  Margate were not giving up yet though and it was Kwashi again on the 80th minute with a powerful shot which went way over the bar.

Chester then brought Rapley on for Foster and soon won yet another corner. Brady's cross was only partially cleared by Margate and fell to the feet of Danny Collins but his shot was slow in coming and easily blocked. Another corner a minute later from McIntyre was punched clear easily by Smith.

One final chance came for Chester in the 88th minute when a Rapley shot was blocked on the goal line by Phil Smith after McIntyre and Twiss had played the ball into him from the left.

So Chester at the end of the day were well worth the three points they came away with.  Margate did create good openings for themselves though but Chester generally dealt with these well.  At the other end though a bigger killer instinct is still needed from Chester in front of goal as the scoreline could easily have been even more in Chester's favour.

Deva TXT man of the match award goes to Jon Brady who got himself involved in the action almost every time Chester came forward.