Chorley fans left the Giant Axe ground feeling decidedly blue after a poor performance by the Magpies in a drab game short on quality.

It took Chorley all of an hour to make any noteworthy impression and that was only after the introduction of the tricky Roger Sharrock, who at last made things happen for the visitors.

City took the lead on 12minutes when Lenny Reid’s teasing corner fell just right for Mark Jackson to glance the ball home from very close range.

There was little sign of any further score until five minutes before the break when City keeper Mark Thornley pulled off a smart reaction save to foil Jordan Goodeve.

The Magpies got on top in the last half-hour, Sharrock having an immediate impact with a mazy run and a shot, which was just cleared the bar, and he followed this with a clever chip which was fractionally too high.

Then Jordan Connerton struck a post with an opportunist overhead kick which left Thornley standing.