Neil Morton scored the only goal of the game as Chester City inflicted another damaging defeat on frail Fulham at Macclessfield’s Moss Rose this afternoon.
Fulham chairman Jimmy Hill faced the music from his own fans in the director’s box as Alan Dicks’ side slumped to another listless away defeat – and the success of Hill’s participation in Dicks’ training sessions seems limited at best. Fulham, facing the prospect of fourth tier football for the first time in their history, never looked like being able to fight back after Morton had stabbed home from close range in the thirteenth minute after Jim Stannard had made a dreadful mess of trying to claim Gary Bennett’s inswinging corner.
City, who now sit ten points clear of the Cottagers, should have extended their lead twenty minutes into the second half when record signing Eddie Bishop badly fluffed his lines having galloped clear of the Fulham defence and found himself with just Stannard to beat. Morton could have made Chester’s first league win in seven attempts much more comfortable had he not headed over the bar three minutes from time – but that miss proved academic.
Hill hit out at the angry away fans who voiced their displeasure at both Dicks’ tenure and Hill’s failure to dismiss the manager, but a gloomy day for the Whites – who have now not won an away fixture in the league since last March – got worse in injury time as defender Jeff Eckhardt was stretchered off two minutes from time after Fulham had used both of their substitutes.
CHESTER CITY: Barber; Brightwell, Preece, Butler, Bishop, Lightfoot, Pugh, Croft, Morton, Bennett (Painter 75), Bertschin (Dale 64).
GOAL: Morton (13).
FULHAM: Stannard; Eckhardt, North, Pike (Skinner 74), G. Thomas, Morgan, Marshall, Newson, Scott (Haag 83), Brazil, Stant.
BOOKED: Scott.
REFEREE: John Kirby (Sheffield).
ATTENDANCE: 1,047.
