Ten-man Chorley ease to home win over Spennymoor

Victories simply do not come easier than this one. The Magpies were purposeful from the start and were set up by a lovely goal on four minutes.

Adam Blakeman played the ball in to Jack Sampson, who laid it off for Ollie Shenton to supply a stylish finish.

Spennymoor had little to offer in reply, barely mustering a shot and allowing Matt Urwin the quietest of nights in the Chorley goal.

It looked for a moment that Billy Whitehouse had made it 2-0 on 17 minutes with a blistering drive which shook the side-netting.

A second Chorley goal at any stage seemed certain to kill the game but the home fans had to wait until just after the hour-mark for it to arrive. It was worth the wait.

Connor Hall released Shenton on the left and he slipped through to the by-line before pulling the ball back for Jon Ustabasi to volley home.

The flying winger’s close control and mazy runs had the visitors’ defence at full stretch to contain him and from one such foray he was unlucky to have a cracking shot charged down.

The only blip on the evening for Chorley was the needless sending-off of Whitehouse after 72 minutes. Already cautioned for a meaty midfield challenge, he was harshly carded again for technically delaying the taking of a free-kick.

In reality, he had no time to get out of the way before the Spennymoor player instantly kicked the ball against him as he prepared to retreat. It was a harsh and frankly poor decision.

The reduction to 10 saw the Magpies lose their attacking momentum and they were forced to concede the lion’s share of possession to the Moors but their inability to get the ball forward quickly enough ensured that they would not even get on the scoresheet.

Manager Andy Preece rated his team’s performance “fantastic from the first minute.”

He had stressed the importance of recovering from Saturday’s disappointment in surrendering a winning position at Southport and was delighted with the response.

He added: “We were under a bit of pressure after Saturday but the players responded by controlling the game, scoring two lovely goals and sending the fans home happy.”

CHORLEY: Urwin, Smith, Leather, Wilson, Whitehouse, Calveley, Shenton, Blakeman, Ustabasi, Sampson (Owens 82), Hall (Nolan 72). Subs (not used): Tomlinson, Johnson, Schorah.