Chorley 2 Worcester City 0

AS THE old cliché goes, goals change games and Worcester City were made well aware of that in this torrid tussle at Victory Park.

For an hour, there was little between the two sides on a pitch more suited to park football than Vanarama National League North.

However, Chorley crucially dug out the opener when Jordan Connerton tapped in Alex Gudger’s miscued header.

Dale Whitham made it 2-0 four minutes later and all of a sudden City were chasing a game they seemed destined to draw.

Worcester will be pleased to have Lee Hughes back in the starting line-up as he made a huge difference when he came off the bench.

But even the potent striker could not find the breakthrough as he hit the crossbar before missing from the spot.

It summed up a frustrating afternoon for City who were forced to battle hard in testing conditions under foot.

Jordan Murphy, who is so often a threat down the left-hand side, particularly struggled to adapt to the poor playing surface, which led to a scrappy encounter.

Amadou Bakayoko plugged away in attack as he kept Chorley’s defence busy, but when presented with a golden opportunity to score he failed take it as he toe-poked wide after Dan Nti put him clean through.

Nti forced a superb stop from Sam Ashton when he left fly from 25 yards and he continued to pose problems along with Connor Gater and Bakayoko.

Apart from Connerton’s thumping effort which was well saved by Nathan Vaughan at the near post, the City stopper looked comfortable.

Gudger was also a commanding presence in defence, so it was a big surprise when he gifted Chorley the lead on 60 minutes.

Even the linesman seemed shocked as he initially ruled out Connerton’s goal for offside before referee Peter Gibbons stepped in and confirmed it was Gudger who provided the striker with a simple finish at the far post.

The goal rattled the visitors and things then went from bad to worse for them when Chorley broke down the left.

With Tom Sharpe forced out wide to cover for Sam Minihan, the hosts rode his tackle before finding Whitham who beat Vaughan with a powerful strike.

Suddenly City’s inexperience in the middle of the park, with Dean Waldron teaming up with Shaun Donnellan in central midfield, was being exposed as the Magpies took control.

Bakayoko had been doing a fine job leading the line, but when Hughes was introduced the difference in quality was clear to see.

The 39-year-old took less than a minute to get his first shot on target and almost scored a contender for goal of the season with a delightful chip which came off the crossbar.

But his search for his 10th goal of the campaign continues as Ashton palmed away his late penalty to leave City empty handed.