Hosts Scarborough Athletic beaten by new National League North leaders Chester in thriller

Chester avenged their FA Cup defeat by Boro in October, coming from behind to go top of the table with a 4-2 win against a battling home side in an exciting National League North clash at the Scarborough Sports Village on Saturday.

Boro were in control for most of the first half, while the visitors performed much better after the break, and it was an excellent game to watch, writes Steve Adamson.

Boro suffered a 4-2 home loss against National League North leaders Chester. Photo by Zach Forster

placeholder image — Boro suffered a 4-2 home loss against National League North leaders Chester. Photo by Zach Forster

Boro made a terrific start, winning three corners in the opening two minutes, with Will Thornton heading over from one, and swivelling acrobatically to fire over from the next Alex Purver corner, then Harry Green had a shot deflected wide by Connell Rawlinson.

In early Chester attacks, a Connor Woods cross was volleyed wide by Iwan Murray, and a Declan Weeks strike was blocked by Thornton, before Boro opened the scoring when Green fed Alex Brown on the left, and his low cross found Luca Colville, whose shot was blocked by Nathan Woodthorpe, but Dom Tear slammed in the rebound.

Boro dominated possession, with Purver, Colville, Tear, Alex Wiles, Kieran Weledji and Jack Waldron involved in some neat passing moves down the right, while a Green cross from the left fell to Colville, whose shot was blocked by Woodthorpe, and keeper Jimmy Storer saved a Green shot at his near post.

Tear twice went close, having a shot charged down by Woodthorpe, then heading over from a Colville corner. Tom Pears fired wide for the visitors, before they broke from defence to equalise on the stroke of half-time, when a fabulous ball forward from Weeks was superbly drilled into the bottom right corner by debutant 18-year-old Crewe Alexandra loanee Fin Roberts.

Chester had been second-best in the first half, but they took charge after the break. A Peers strike was blocked by Thornton, Brown blocked a Fin Roberts effort, then Jack Bainbridge fired narrowly over, before they went ahead, when a Fin Roberts ball into the area from the left, deflected off the knee of Will Thornton, and sped past Ryan Whitley into the net.

Boro were soon back level, as Richie Bennett passed to Green on the left, and his low ball across the goalmouth was tapped in at the back post by Tear, his fifth goal in three games against Chester this season.

Fin Roberts fired a 25-yard free-kick into the chest of Whitley, and a Connor Woods shot was blocked by Thornton, then Colville had a fierce shot blocked by Bainbridge at the other end. Chester were awarded a penalty when Weeks went down in the area, and Whitley dived to his left to push away Fin Roberts’ spot-kick (his third penalty save of the season), but Weeks smashed in the rebound.

Dan Mooney fired wide, while for Boro, a Purver corner fell to Michael Woods, whose overhead scissors kick fizzed wide. Chester wrapped up their fifth successive win in stoppage time, when Mooney raced onto a long ball forward, and fired an unstoppable 25-yard shot into the roof of the net.

BORO - Whitley, Waldron, Brown, Weledji, Thornton (c), Purver, Green, Wiles (Wilson 81), Bennett (M.Woods 70), Tear, Colville, unused subs - Bancroft, Hudson, Glynn

CHESTER - Storer, Burke, Weeks, Rawlinson (c), Peers, Woodthorpe, C.Woods (Mooney 76), Bainbridge, Murray (Pollock 89), K.Roberts, F.Roberts (Willoughby 84), unused subs - Daly, Burgess