MATCH PREVIEW: CHESTER FC v SOUTHPORT

Chester FC welcome Southport to CH1, on Tuesday night, with hopes of extending their unbeaten run to 12 matches.

Our visit to Haig Avenue earlier on in the season was a successful one, as we comfortably dispatched of the Sandgrounders 2-0, with Elliott Whitehouse and George Glendon getting on the scoresheet.

However, Southport are formidable opponents, as their recent form suggests, with seven points collected from the last nine available. Moreover, Jim Bentley’s side have four clean sheets out of the last five games, so it is set to be a challenging test for Cal McIntyre’s men in midweek under the lights.

THE OPPOSITION

Southport currently occupy 17^th position in the National League North with only five points separating them with the dreaded relegation spots.

Perhaps surprisingly the team from Merseyside are the 5^th best away side in the league with 27 of their 42 points coming away from home. Only Curzon Ashton (31) and Tamworth (37) have accrued more points as the visitors this term.

The Yellows flirted with relegation last campaign and only narrowly avoided the drop by a solitary point after losing their last eight consecutive league games.

THE GAFFER

Jim Bentley joined Southport in August 2023 after the Sandgrounders endured a torrid start to the season, with only one point to their name after six matches.

Bentley’s impact was immediate with 16 points earned in their next six matches, which earned him the Manager of the Month award for November. Since then, their form has been more inconsistent, but the 47-year-old has undoubtedly steadied a ship that was in danger of sinking.

Bentley is widely regarded as one of Morecambe’s greatest ever figures after spending the large majority of his playing career with the Shrimps, amassing 298 appearances in nine years, before entering the dugout at the Mazuma Stadium for a further eight years.

Until his resignation in October 2019, Bentley was the longest serving manager in the top four tiers of English football. Stints with AFC Fylde and Rochdale followed but exactly a year after his appointment at the latter, he joined Tuesday’s visitors.

ONE TO WATCH

Goalkeeper Chris Renshaw has been in fine form of late, being instrumental in Southport’s recent run of four clean sheets in their last five games.

That form was rewarded as he was the proud recipient of the club’s Player of the Month award for the month of February.

When he’s not in between the sticks at Haig Avenue, Renshaw can be found performing his duties as an Assistant First Team Goalkeeping/Transition Coach at Blackburn Rovers.

LEAGUE FORM GUIDE

Chester FC l W16 D13 L9 l F47 A28 GD: +19 l Pos: 5^th

Last Three

Spennymoor Town (H) l D 1-1 l Scorers: Christian Norton

Scunthorpe United (A) l D 2-2 l Scorers: Ben Tollitt, George Glendon

Curzon Ashton (H) l D 0-0 l Scorers: N/A

Southport l W13 D6 L18 l F42 A63 GD: -21 l Pos: 17^th 

Last Three

Peterborough Sports (H) l D 0-0 l Scorers: N/A

Warrington Town (A) l W 3-0 l Scorers: Richie Bennett, Marcus Carver, Adam Anson

Banbury United (A) l W 1-0 l Scorers: Marcus Carver

Match preview by Jude Deedigan.

Feature photo by Millie Johnson.

MATCH DETAILS

Kick off is 7.45pm on Tuesday night at the Leap76 Stadium.

TICKETS

The quickest and easiest way to buy match tickets is via our online ticketing platform at: 

chesterfc.ktckts.com

Online sales will now be available until kick off and you simply need to present your printed ticket or mobile phone to be scanned at the turnstile.

We still strongly encourage supporters to purchase tickets in advance via the below link, as purchasing in advance prior to matchday also provides a saving on the price.

Card/contactless payments are also available at the turnstiles for all open stands.

Supporters can pay with contactless, chip and pin and Apple Pay and Google Pay for The Gary Talbot (East) Stand, Harry McNally (North) Terrace and Swettenham Chemists’ Community (West) Stand. Please note the relevant turnstile further down in this article.

If you wish to pay with cash, you will need to buy your ticket from the Ticket Office before the game, however we advise arriving earlier than normal to reduce queuing times. Cash is not accepted at the turnstiles.