Chester FC 1 Nantwich Town 1

JIMMY Quinn says consistency will now be the key for a Nantwich Town playoff push after an impressive away draw at table topping Chester FC.

Michael Lennon gave the Dabbers a 51st minute lead, but ex-Crewe Alexandra midfielder Antoni Sarcevic levelled two minutes later in front of a club record crowd of 3560 at the Exacta Stadium.

Now the Nantwich boss wants to see a prolonged run of results from his side in a second half push towards the top five, starting with a defeat of Mickleover Sports on Saturday, kick off 3pm.

Quinn said: “On the back of the win against Stafford and the draw here I am going to encourage the lads to keep that consistency up and hopefully we can get near the playoffs.”

Nantwich were thankful for the heroics of goalkeeper Jon Brain who pulled off a string of fantastic saves to keep the score level in the first half.

Matty McNeil was the first to force a save from the ex-Port Vale and Macclesfield stopper, his shot on 14 minutes was well saved by Brain before Sarcevic smashed the rebound against the crossbar.

Chances were few and far between for the Dabbers in the first half, but Dave MacPherson twice flashed wide from distance before causing confusion between Chester’s Michael Taylor and goalkeeper John Danby, with the defender nearly poking into his own goal.

The save of the match came on the stroke of half time, as the lively Sarcevic broke down the left and fed Jerome Wright.

Wright’s powerful eight yard strike looking destined for the top left corner but Brain managed to get a hand on the ball to push wide.

Nantwich took the lead just after half time, with good interplay between Mills and substitute Aleksandrs Solovjovs creating space for Michael Lennon to work his way into the area and slide the ball into Danby’s bottom left hand corner.

But that lead lasted only two minutes, as ex-Port Vale midfielder Christian Smith pumped the ball down the left hand side to Sarcevic, who skipped to the edge of the area and rifled home a right footed drive into the top corner.

Both sides had chances to win the game, with Nantwich coming within inches on nicking a result with moments remaining, but both sides will be happy with a point each.

Nantwich: Brain, Lowe, Foster (Solovjovs, 45), MacPherson, Bailey, Moss, Cooke (Urwin, 76), Flynn(Maguire, 56), Mills, Lennon, McDonald. Subs: Wakefield, Jack.