Chester-le-Street Town: CHESTER-LE-STREET are through to the final qualifying round of this season's FA Youth Cup after they beat Burscough 2-1 at Moor Park on Sunday.

It was a below-par performance by Chester on the back of their superb 4-3 win at Morecambe in the previous round. In a scrappy opening, Gary Edwards gave Burscough a fourth-minute lead when his free-kick missed all of the targets in the box and sailed over Liam Connell in the Chester goal. Chester struggled to get into their usual passing game, but they still managed to create several good chances but unfortunately finished poorly in front of goal.

In the second half, the home side battled to try and assert themselves, but still continued to be frustrated in the last third of the field. However, in the 73rd minute they were awarded a free-kick and midfielder Steven Richardson stepped up and curled a stunning equaliser over the wall and into the roof of the net. With six minutes on the clock substitute Martin Urwin side-footed a fine winner after good approach play.

Chester will now be at home to either Guiseley or Bradford Park Avenue in the final qualifying round. Chester-le-Street are also boosted by the return of Robbie Houghton, Gavin Stoker and David Curry - who have all not been available for selection in the earlier rounds. Manager Andrew Muxworthy was pleased with the result but disappointed with the performance. He said, "We didn't raise our game to the standards that we reached at Morecambe. It was a disjointed game, we were complacent in front of goal and this made the players anxious the longer the match went on. There were a number of petty fouls by both sides and that made it impossible for the referee to allow the game to go on. We will play much better next time."

Chester: Connell, G Draper, R Draper, Glazinski, Jones, Trueman, Watson (Clayton 77), Richardson, Laws, Bulford (Urwin 46), Browne. Subs not used: Wadge, Hetherington, Nevins.

Referee: G Beswick (Newton Aycliffe); Assistants: J Hunt (Peterlee) & J Cornforth (Darlington)

Attendance: 97

Meanwhile, Chester's Under 18 side lost 3-1 to Washington Nissan while the Under 19s drew 2-2 at Gosforth in the Tynedale League.

Tomorrow, the under-18s don't have a game as they have no fewer than nine players involved with the Durham County FA squad in the FA County Youth Cup match against Lincolnshire (Archibald Stadium, 2pm). The Under-19s travel to Montague.