V Chester 4s

A chilly and cloudy Winter's afternoon heralded the arrival of this eagerly anticipated Derby which rarely fails to deliver it's fair share of action and suspense and today was no exception.
With both Manager and Vice unavailable for selection,Gemma B nobly stepped into the role and sacrificed her own play
Wrexham opened the game very positively,looking lively and dangerous. Newcomers Mia and Sophie combining well down the left with a lovely 1-2 which nearly culminated in an early goal.
Reliable Beth found a well positioned Georgia with a beautiful pass from the Wrexham defence down the other flank but sadly ended with a shot into the side netting.
Hard working Georgia, again the recipient

of a wonderful hit out from the consistent Meg ,carried the ball decisively into the Chester 'D' but again not quite finding the target today.
Poppy showed good tenacity despite being under the weather today.
The welcome return of Rachel W from injury saw some great passages of play and fierce tackling in defence.Nice interplay with Abbie created a shot into goal and a chaotic goal line scramble saw Chester somehow keep the scores level.
The Blue's started to find their rhythm midway through the half.Laila's 1st impressive action of the game came with 13 minutes remaining and Wrexham under considerable pressure.A great save on the ground with her stick to the right ,then the rebound shot frantically cleared from the line by Beth. Laila and the defence remained strong,with more great saves from Wrexham's keeper ensuring the away

side stayed in the game.
24th minute saw Wrexham with a great break to ease the pressure,short corner to the Whites.
Injection from Beth found skipper Ffi,great shot parried away by the home team's keeper,,only to find the busy Ffi again ,who managed to find space to fire across the goal mouth to the waiting Abbie who controlled it on her reverse ,dragged the ball onto her open side and with the keeper looming,deftly placed it to the right hand side of the goalie who had gone to ground,0-1 to Wrexham and out came the sunshine!
Chester, fought back hard against the tiring Wrexham team who had lost some discipline and shape towards the end of the half.A conceded short corner with only a few minutes remaining, another vital save from Laila but a Chester attacker was 1st to the rebound to equalise the

game.1-1
Sustained pressure by the home team earned another penalty corner ,right on the whistle,only a tremendous clearance from the defence kept the game level.
The 2nd half continued as the 1st had ended ,the Blue's pushing forward at every opportunity and Wrexham's midfield and defence struggling to contain the home team. Great work from Gemma, doggedly pestering the opposition allowing them no time to settle on the ball. With the enviable benefit of 14 in the squad today,invaluable support was provided by Lauren and the younsters Hattie and Bethan ,who settled quickly into this fast paced game and contributed well.
Half way through the nervewracking 2nd half, Meg timed a tackle wonderfully in the White's D to steal the ball right from the end of the thundering forward's stick to prevent a certain close range strike.

More courageous and decisive saves from the busy Wrexham keeper kept the goal tally down until a cleanly struck Chester short corner flew into the corner of the Wrexham goal.2-1.
A nail biting end to the game ,Wrexham scrabbling hard for a well deserved equaliser but Chester's frequent quick breaks kept the visitors pinned back, forcing more great saves from Laila right up until the final whistle .
Tenacious performance from the ladies and unlucky to leave without points today.