WEST AUCKLAND TOWN 1-0 CHESTER-LE-STREET

(Saturday 24 March, 3:00PM)

A Danny Richmond super strike spared West Auckland's blushes after a stuttering performance. It will also be relief to midfielder Karl Everitt after he earlier made the hosts task much harder with a straight red card in only the 57th minute.

The early stages saw little openings for either side - Kevin Shoulder's 12th minute shot the first on target but far too little power to concern Mark Bell. West struggled to gain any foothold in the game before Karl Everitt tested Ian Aitken who palmed his effort out and cleared to safety. This sparked West into life and a minute later Lee Ellison flicked the ball onto his strike partner Garry Barnes who saw his shot well saved by Aitken. Lee Ellison found Ian Maddison in the area in the 22nd minute and when the midfielder chipped the ball into the goalmouth area, Barnes saw his shot blocked before Danny Richmond came in to blast the ball well over the bar. A goal seemed inevitable but after this flurry of activity the game yet again turned scrappy.

The lowly placed visitors Chester-le-Street nearly took the lead in the 33rd minute when Kevin Shoulder twisted and turned Michael Heckley but sent a shot wide. 5 minutes later Christopher Hunter arrived late in the box but, unmarked, sent his header wide. Chester then had strong penalty appeals for handball, turned down. However West did have a good chance as half time approached when Danny Key burst into the area and fizzed the ball back to Garry Barnes but too quickly for the forward who could not connect with the ball as the chance disappeared. Barnes, though, did see a late chip float harmlessly over the bar after a surging run forward by Kevin Bromley.

The second half started in similar fashion to the first although Brian Fairhurst was alert enough to tackle Kevin Shoulder, after Leigh Grant had missed the through ball allowing the forward a run through on goal. West were struggling to move through the gears but would have to work much harder for the majority of the second half when Karl Everitt became the third sending off for West this season. After committing a foul, Everitt reacted by pushing the Chester player before swearing at the referee who pulled out the red card leaving West a man light for the remaining 33 minutes and stoppage time. David Bayles reacted by switching Danny Richmond to the right of midfield but it was West other winger, Kevin Bromley, who was to be in action in the 61st minute when, after Lee Ellison's shot was blocked, Bromley appeared to be hauled down in the area only for the appeals to be turned away.

Goalkeeper Mark Bell was the last line of defence in the 64th minute racing out of his area to win a header with Chester forward Kevin Shoulder who would have been clean through on goal, the ball then scrambled away by the West defence. A couple of simple saves followed for Bell before sub Darren Kokes sparked new life into West when he raced onto a through ball, challenging for possession with the keeper who raced to the edge of the area. The ball broke for Kokes who, with little space for a shot, played the ball back to Danny Richmond whose resultant cross found Garry Barnes' head but he was not able to get a clean connection and the ball was cleared away. West Auckland's hearts were in their mouths 8 minutes from time when Jonny Wightman raced clear only for a superb last ditch block by Leigh Grant followed by Wightman looping the loose ball over the bar.

David Bayles tried to change the game in the 84th minute with Dale Jardine replacing Garry Barnes and the substitution sparked energy into 10 man West. Three minutes later, Jardine sent fellow sub Darren Kokes through to race on goal only for the impressive Ian Aitken to yet again pull off another good save. However confusion followed when the ball rebounded off a Chester-le-Street player. Aitken delayed, looking at the referee, before picking up the loose ball. The referee blew for a back pass and from the resulting free kick Brian Fairhurst could do little but hit one of the 11 Chester players on the line with a hopeful handball shout being ignored. And as time looked to have ran out West broke with Kokes and Richmond. 3 on 3, Danny Richmond looked up 25 yards from goal, seeing Aitken off his line, lofted the ball beautifully over the back peddling keeper and into the top of the net. It gave West their fourth win in a row, their eighth 'double' victory and more importantly move them into fourth place as several teams around them faltered.

Team
    1 Mark Bell
    2 Michael Heckley
    3 Danny Key
    4 Karl Everitt
    5 Brian Fairhurst
    6 Leigh Grant
    7 Lee Ellison
       (12 Darren Kokes 63 mins)
    8 Danny Richmond
    9 Ian Maddison
   10 Garry Barnes
       (13 Dale Jardine 84 mins)
   11 Kevin Bromley

Subs Not Used
   14 David Bayles
   15 Phil Owers
   16 Richard Smith