In a first half which saw both sides effectively cancelling each other out, it was the visitors from Devon who were first to show their intentions.  Gareth Sheldon came close from a set piece in the second minute but his shot was just wide of the post and into the side netting.

In the eighth minute Michael Twiss made a good run down the left hand channel for the blues but his shot was well blocked by James Bittner in the Exeter goal.

On 16 minutes Sean Carey got the ball in front of goal after some classy moves by Twiss and Clare down the left hand side. He was slow to decide what to do though and after what seemed like an eternity ended up shooting wide left of the goal.

At the other end Iain Turner was called into action, making a great save after a mistake by Paul Carden had let Exeter through.  Almost immediately at the other end Bittner again was well placed to block a good shot from Daryl Clare.

Chester won a corner a in the 24th after a good solo run from Michael Twiss. Jamie Heard put the cross in from the corner but was too close to the keeper who saved it easily.

A few minutes later an excellent long ball from Scott Guyett met the head of Darryn Stamp, but once again the Grecian's keeper had the angle well covered.

Chester were having much of the possession but neither side were looking capable of setting up killer goal scoring opportunities.  The half chances continued though with Darryn Stamp heading just wide to the right of goal in the 34th after good possession in midfield.

Daryl Clare won another corner for the blues in the 38th minute with assistance from Kevin McIntyre, but the stalemate continued and the half ended with the match still goalless.

Into the second half, and Chester should have taken the lead in the 52nd minute after Michael Twiss set up Darryn Stamp with a good chance.  His shot rebounded off the keeper though, and a second shot was caught well by Bittner.

The blues won a corner a few minutes later which was cleared away by the Grecian's defence, but only after what looked like strong claims for hand ball had been waved aside by the referee.

As if a denied penalty was not bad enough, Exeter took the lead a few minutes later.  A rare mistake by Danny Collins let Sean Devine through and his shot had Turner beat, creeping into goal just inside of the upright.

This was to prove the catalyst which spurred the blues into action.   The equaliser came only four minutes later, though it seemed at the time to have taken much longer. It came after Daryl Clare set up Michael Twiss from a midfield position. Twiss calmly slotted the ball home from 15 yards giving Bittner no real chance with it.

The pace of the game kept increasing and Chester won another corner a few minutes later. Again Heard played the ball a little too close to the keeper who managed to punch it away from danger.

Chester kept the pressure up and a few minutes later Santos Gaia conceded a free kick just outside the Exeter box with a foul on Michael Twiss, earning himself a yellow card in the process.

With 70 minutes on the clock, it was Daryl Clare who took the free kick and launched the ball around the wall and low into the back of the net to give Chester the lead for the first time in the game.

The blues continued to attack and Michael Twiss made a great run down the left hand channel winning another corner in the 83rd minute. McIntyre took the corner this time and again Bittner was there in the Exeter goal to parry it away from danger.

The inevitable third goal came a few minutes later once again from Michael Twiss.  Lee Elam set him up but it was a great move from Twissy to beat his marker and fire the ball home into the bottom right hand corner of the net to give the blues a 2 goal cushion with only 3 minutes left on the clock.

It was a to prove a valuable goal into injury time as Sean Canham got one back for Exeter, launching the ball into the roof of the net, and setting up a nail biting final few minutes for the Deva faithful as they waited for the final whistle.

A huge sigh of relief then when it finally came, giving the blues a six point lead with only 9 left to play for.  Deva TXT man of the match goes to Michael Twiss for two fantastic goals and good creativity down the left hand side of midfield.  Att 4046.