Wrexham Move Joint Top After Hard-Earned Derby Win

The visitors from 14 miles away over the Welsh border defended superbly and in back four duo Manny Smith and goal hero Shaun Pearson, possessed the evening`s two outstanding players.

The pre-match tension wasn`t helped by the fact that the kick-off had to be delayed by 15 minutes due to crowd congestion after some of the coaches carrying many of the 1,200-plus Wrexham supporters were held up en-route.

But once the game got underway, Chester were soon on the front foot and came close as early as the 4th minute when Smith was forced to hack off the goalline after Jordan Archer had beaten visiting `keeper Chris Dunn.

There were several players in the Wrexham side who have previous Chester connections and that added to the bite in the tackles, and it looked as though one of them – Chris Holroyd – fired past home `keeper Alex Lynch, only for the assistant`s flag to be raised for offside, much to the joy of the home fans.

Chester were then denied what appeared to be a clear-cut penalty after Holyord handled Lathaniel Rowe-Turner`s header, but the referee decided otherwise.

Home fans dismay at that decision turned to anger a few minutes later as the visitors took the lead on the cusp of half-time.

Marcus Kelly whipped in a terrific free-kick from out on the right and former Grimsby Town stalwart Pearson neatly glanced a header past Lynch.

The second half saw the temperature on the pitch at least rise considerably with several meaty challenges and the referee did well to only brandish three yellow cards during the game.

The home side pushed Wrexham deeper and deeper and it almost became defence v attack at times, especially as Dean Keates` side wasted their opportunities when they did have the ball in the opposition half.

Despite their pressure, Chester were unable to fashion many clear openings, until 7 minutes from time when Harry White, with literally his first touch after coming off the bench, should have done better with a free header from an Andy Halls chip.

But this was three very hard-earned points for the Dragons against an improving Chester side under Marcus Bignot and on another day, the result could well have gone the other way.