HOT TOWN CHARGING INTO THE PLAY-OFFS
BRACKLEY TOWN closed in on a top-three finish while Chester will now need a miracle to make the play-offs.
Manager Gavin Cowan said: “It was a well-deserved win and an excellent performance all-round. It was disappointing to go a goal down but the reaction from the players was incredible.”
Ben Tollitt put Chester ahead on eight minutes, finishing neatly from close range after the Brackley defence was exposed by a quick break. Chester were close to increasing the lead through Declan Weeks following a defensive slip and the Blues came to rue the missed opportunity.
It took Saints just before the half hour mark to draw level, Connor Hall heading in from George Carline’s fine cross for the striker’s eighth goal since signing on loan in January.
Hall doubled his tally in the third minute after the interval, again through a header again supplied inch perfect by Carline from the left.
Tyler Lyttle cut in from the right and hit a fierce left-foot effort that was just over from 20 yards and Tommy O’Sullivan’s corner found Hall in space but the striker’s attempt was wide.
On 74 minutes Saints added a third goal as Shep Murombedzi broke away to find Riccardo Calder, whose cross could only be pushed out by Wyll Stanway and was swept high into the net by Danny Newton following up.
Substitute Charlie Caton poked a shot past Danny Lewis only to be thwarted by the post as Chester laid siege to Lewis’ goal as hopes of a play-off place slipped away.
With Chester pushing forward for a vital goal, Brackley exploited the open spaces, Newton’s shot saved by Stanway before determined work by Newton set up substitute Jimmy Armson in added time but his goalbound shot was somehow kept out.
The win extends Brackley’s unbeaten run to 11 games. “We have another game to go now and then to make sure we play like we have been doing in the play-offs,” Cowan added. “It is another step to where we want to be.”
Defeat all but ended Chester’s hopes for a top-seven finish.
“I was disappointed with the performance and we have fallen short,” Calum McIntyre said. “When we look back it won’t be about today’s result because they are a good side but it will be about our results against the bottom eight teams in the division, not scoring enough goals across the board.” STAR MAN: Connor Hall (Brackley) ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★