Chester started with most of the possession in the opening stages but without really threatening the Stevenage goal.

It was Stevenage though with the first corner of the match which was played ridiculously short by Wormull allowing Alex Smith to steal it and run most of the length of the pitch with it.  A breakaway chance for Chester and it resulted in Daryl Clare having a crack at goal which forced a diving save from Perez in the Stevenage goal.

At the other end two minutes later Rocky Baptiste had the ball bouncing off the top of the Chester crossbar from a long range shot.  In the ninth minute another good chance for Stevenage created by Steve Watson in the centre of the field but when it fell to Holloway he sliced it over the bar for a goal kick.

Stevenage won another corner in the 12th minute which Wormull played to the far post where it was cleared upfield by Ben Davies. However it was played back up to the Chester goal immediately and Anthony Elding sent a powerful shot over the crossbar and into the north terrace.

Stevenage were now having most of the play by this point but in the 17th minute a good move by McIntyre and Smith in midfield set up Ben Davies  who volleyed the ball just wide of the right hand post.

Stevenage won another corner in the 20th minute which was played to the near post and cleared away.  It fell to Simon Worrul but his shot was well off target.  A minute later Rocky Baptiste made a solo run through the middle of the field but his shot was straight at Wayne Brown.

In the 27th minute Scott Guyett played an excellent long ball into the goalmouth area for the blues.  It was Kevin Rapley who made a run to meet it but his header was just wide of the left hand post.

In the 28th Stevenage won another corner which was played high to the far post.  Chester were clearing these with ease though and this one was no different.

Chester won a free kick in a dangerous position right on the edge of the box after Daryl Clare was wrestled to the ground by Bunce.  This lead to Chester's first corner of the game which Davies played high into the centre of the goalmouth where it was parried away by Perez.  The ball was played back into the goalmouth and scrambled behind for a corner by Perez with Guyett and Clare bearing down on him.

McIntyre's corner was cleared away but this was a good spell for Chester.

Stevenage reasserted their edge on the game with a goal in the 37th minute. Dino Maamria played the ball almost along the goal line giving Anthony Elding an easy opportunity to knock the ball home from about a yard out.

In a dangerous situation Danny Collins hoofed the ball behind for another Stevenage corner. The corner itself came to nothing but it did emphasise that Stevenage were slightly more dominant at this stage of the game, as reflected in the scoreline.

Chester did have another corner just before half time played high across the box by Ben Davies but the referee blew for an infringement and a free kick for Stevenage.

So a deserved half time lead for Stevanage with 5 corners to Chester's 2 and with the best of the goalmouth action so far.

Into the second half and Chester started brightly with a corner almost from the break which was played short by Ben Davies. It was cleared away easily however but was a hopeful start to the half with Chester now shooting toward their own fans in the North Terrace.

However after this promising start the game descended into a midfield scrap with nothing much to report until almost the hour.

In 58 minutes Rapley came close to equalising for Chester as he chased after the ball along with Perez but it was Perez who got to it first and smothered it. A minute later and Rapley sent Daryl Clare free on the left hand flank.  He attempted a long range diagonal shot from there which went just past the right hand post.

Stevenage won a controversial corner in the 62nd after Wayne looked to have caught the ball on the goal line.  The corner itself was parried away and came back out to Steve Watson who blasted the ball well over the bar.

Stamp and Twiss replaced Guyett and Rapley in the 66th minute to try and inject new impetus to the Chester attack. They were nearly rewarded from a free kick in the 74th minute when Ben Davies' shot got through the defensive wall and hit the right hand post, then trundled along the goal line. Unfortunately it was Stevenage who got to it first but a good effort from Davies.

Against the run of play Stevenage doubled their advantage on 75 minutes with a goal from Rocky Baptiste. he received the ball across midfield from the left channel and placed it home into the bottom right hand corner of the goal from about 12 yards out.

Chester were well and truly out of it now as the game fizzled out.  There was no urgency in the Chester attack and Stevenage looked as though they were comfortable with what they had already achieved.

Much to everyone's surprise then the Blues got a late consolation goal through Michael Twiss two minutes into injury time. After a good run down the left hand channel he unleashed a deadly volley from 14 yards out to give Perez no chance.

Perez pulled off the save of the century 6 minutes into injury time from a McIntyre free kick.  As most of the east stand were already celebrating what looked like a late Chester equaliser Perez was there at the left hand post with a brilliant save.

So a deserved win then for Stevenage at the end of the day.  Chester did not look interested for long periods with no urgency or spark in their game this afternoon.  Full time then Chester 1-2 Stevenage.

Deva TXT Alert