Chorley 1 Matlock Town 0 (From Chorley Citizen)

Chorley 1 Matlock Town 0

8:03am Monday 4th March 2013 in Chorley FC

There was double delight for Chorley manager Garry Flitcroft as his second-half substitute Porya Ahmadi secured victory with a dramatic late winner, while an impressive debut earned newly-recruited midfield play-maker Tom Baker the man-of-the-match award.

Signed from Ashton United just hours before the kick-off, the former FC Halifax star was at the heart of Chorley’s best creative play, rarely wasting a ball.

The Magpies have now won four of their last five, all by the same 1-0 margin, and this tight and at times tetchy encounter at Victory Park had looked set to end scoreless until Ahmadi’s stunning strike proved decisive, to the delight of the majority of a 560 crowd.

In a featureless first-half, goal-attempts were at a premium Tom Ince coming closest for Chorley but his measured lob was cleared off the line by Gareth Davies. The second period followed a similar pattern until Ahmadi’s stunning late strike.

The match appeared to be drifting to an 0-0 draw until an incisive move down the left wing ended with Adam Roscoe’s blocked shot falling to Ahmadi on the edge of the area who curled a wonderful shot beyond Jon Kennedy in the Matlock goal.