September 2008 Archives

APOLOGIES from the Exiles that our part of the Deva Fever blog dried up for a few weeks - the shock of witnessing the 6-0 drubbing at Dagenham and Redbridge has taken a lot of getting over.

But Sunday's thrilling high noon encounter against our Shropshire rivals has inspired us again, especially with Saturday's visit to Luton's Kenilworth Road to look forward to.

The contrast between the performances against Dagenham and Shrewsbury couldn't have been greater and I'm sure the arrival of "The Chief" must have something to do with it. His bellows from the touchline certainly can't be ignored and his obvious will to win must have rubbed off on the players.

Sunday's game also reminded me of the fun of being a League Two follower. Where else would the opposition subs have a 'friendly' banter with the home fans after wrongly chucking the ball back in play?

There was also the moment when the matchday announcer told away fans they had free bus back to the station, only for a home fan to quip loudly: "Can I have a lift as well?". And I had the personal thrill of having my photo taken with goal scorer Paul McManus when I bumped into him in the shop. Yes, the League Two matchday experience is one that can't be rivalled by the higher divisions.

So, let's hope for an equally fun day out at Luton. The Exiles will be certainly out in force and are confident of a better footballing display than we saw at Daggers.

I'm sure Simon Davies, returning to a ground where he had relatively poor fortunes as a footballer, will be up for a battle. Who knows, Chester could finish up being unbeaten in September? Come on you Blues!

In a weekend where I've watched Chester City take a draw from what should have been a win, and Formula One star Lewis Hamilton demoted to third in a race marred by a highly controversial stewards' decision, most of my time recently has been seething and occasionally blurting: "That was NEVER a penalty!"

City's increasingly solid course of improvement has continued with the home match against Bury, and it shows how far the club has come along in the past few weeks that the eventual score draw was viewed as something of a disappointment.

Especially when the first half had produced a performance worthy of a win. Mozika showed why a certain Championship club was taking interest in him when he deservedly bagged his first goal for City, with a well-aimed strike into the bottom corner of the net. Thankfully, the unnamed club's request to take the player on loan with a view to a transfer was soundly rejected, ensuring City will at least hang on to this star for a few months yet.

Unfortunately, Chester couldn't manage to hang on to their lead, as Bury player Andy Morrell theatrically tumbled to the ground in the City penalty area early in the second half. Despite the referee having a brilliant view of the situation, he still pointed to the penalty spot for what quite clearly seemed to be a dive. Or at the very least, this was the opinion of the vast majority of the City fans...

Several more 'debatable' judgements later, and City fans were pretty vexed, with manager Simon Davies later commenting the referee "spoiled" the game with "ludicrous" decisions.

The successful Bury spot-kick has meant Chester only earned a share of the spoils, but can at least take heart from a side looking visibly more confident and a world away from the messy start to the season. This is traditionally Chester's good form patch, where plenty of points are taken in the run-up to Christmas, so perhaps City can continue their form and grab something against Grimsby next time out.

Here's the latest offering from new Deva Fever blogger, Madowl Blue...

IT'S been an increasingly anxious wait, but Chester City recorded their first points of the season on Saturday - and what a way to earn them!

For the minuscule, yet dedicated home crowd of little more than 1,200 Chester fans, the 5-1 trouncing against Barnet was just reward for witnessing several inadequate displays by the team, not only this season but also throughout most of last season.

I must confess, I was not one of those who made the journey to the Deva Stadium, as one of several who could not face spending £15 and 90 minutes on several frustrating, sometimes fruitless, Saturday afternoons, glaring at the squad and willing that ball to at least make it into the vicinity of the opposition's goalmouth.

So, taking the rather more cushy route of unwinding at home with a can of some alcoholic beverage, I put my feet up and watched all the action unfold on Soccer Saturday instead.

As a result, I nearly fell off my chair several times as I kept scrambling up to the television screen whenever a Chester goal flashed up. At half-time, the usually unflappable Jeff Stelling became slightly flustered as the videprinter stuttered, spluttered and ground to a halt. Rumours that it had crashed because it was unable to comprehend why Chester still had a clean sheet by this time are unfounded.

And with each goal that poured in for Chester (and seeing Jeff increasingly stress each City goal as it appeared on screen), I began to regret not paying my visit to the Deva Stadium. The same had occurred last season, when I'd left it too late to see them play Dagenham & Redbridge at home. Chester then, of course, went on to win 4-0 in my absence.

So, lesson learned and with fresh optimism, I shall be joining the small but defiant band of supporters who've kept the faith during the club's terrible start to the season, for the next home match against Bury. Whether the result was a flash in the pan or the start of sustained success is unknown, but surely the latter is the least the fans deserve.