Blues boss Simon Davies - celebrating his first victory at the helm - and his team received a fully deserved standing ovation from their relieved fans after the final whistle to signal their first home victory of the year.

Chester had succeeded in halting a worrying slide towards the foot of the League Two table having produced such a promising start to their campaign.

Goals from Paul Rutherford and Richie Partridge earned the hard-working Blues a 2-0 advantage at the break.

And Chester dug deep to fend off a tenacious Darlington towards the end of the match, despite visiting skipper Steve Foster reducing the Quakers' arrears.

The victory elevated Chester 10 points clear of second-bottom Mansfield Town with seven league games remaining.

Blues boss, Simon Davies, made several changes to the side that had suffered a miserable 3-1 defeat at Barnet the week before.

Skipper Paul Butler returned to City's defence in place of injured James Vaughan, while Paul Rutherford operated as a winger in place of injured Kevin Ellison, and Chris Holroyd returned to City's line of attack in place of Paul McManus, while Richie Partridge also returned from injury to replace Kevin Sandwith.

Chester started the match as if their lives depended on an early goal.
Their first attack in the second minute was created by Laurence Wilson who hoisted a cross from the left flank for John Murphy to head on for Holroyd, but the striker saw the ball whipped away from his foot by Darlington defender Neil Austin six yards from goal.

Kevin Roberts, operating as a right back, provided Partridge with an inch-perfect pass in the fourth minute, but the winger saw his goalbound effort deflected and gathered by visiting keeper, David Stockdale.

Chester were rewarded for their early endeavours in the sixth minute when Roberts' cross from the left was headed by Murphy into the path of Rutherford who made no mistake with his powerful strike that nestled in the right corner of the net.

Darlington attempted to hit back immediately after going 1-0 down, but striker Pawel Abbott saw his header saved by Danby, and his eighth minute shot was ballooned well over the bar.

Holroyd steadied the City ship in the 20th minute, but his 20th minute left-footed strike from the edge of the box flew over the bar.

The striker atoned for his wayward shooting in the 36th minute by helping City extend their lead. He received a perfect pass from Mark Hughes on the left wing and threaded a superb ball to the edge of the box where Partridge provided a couple of touches before unleashing an unstoppable shot which arrowed its way into the bottom right corner of the net.

City's fans were expecting a backlash from Darlington during the early stages of the second half, but it was Chester who continued to dictate.

The Blues were forced to replace foot injury victim Holroyd for young substitute, Paul McManus before the restart, while Darlington replaced Micky Cummins for Richie Foran.

And it was McManus who created City's first scoring chance of the half, weaving his way along the right wing before feeding Partridge who saw his shot fly well over the bar.

Wilson created problems for the visiting defence in the 57th minute when he hoisted a corner into the heart of the Darlington box. The visitors struggled to clear the ball before Rutherford rifled his 18-yard shot over the target.

McManus continued to cause Darlington problems with his pace and ball control on the hour when he burst forward and forced Stockdale into a save.

But Chester had cause for concern three minutes later when goalkeeper, John Danby, fell awkwardly after attempting to catch a cross and he looked concussed as he received treatment from physio Ben Holt and club doctor, Mike Riley.

Danby eventually got back to his feet and insisted he was fine to continue, but the physio and doctor were not convinced and relayed their concerns to Simon Davies.

Danby was reluctant to leave the pitch, but he was eventually substituted by Phil Palethorpe who was relieved to see an offside flag raised after Foran had netted just seconds after Palethorpe's introduction.

Tommy Wright saw two volleyed efforts fly over Palethorpe's bar as he spurred the visitors towards a spirited finale.

Murphy countered in the 78th minute, but his scuffed shot from a McManus throughball was easily gathered by Stockdale.

Darlington had the final word, but it was too little too late after ex-Chester player, Gregg Blundell had replaced Abbott in the 68th minute.
Chester failed to clear the danger as Darlington pressed for a goal and Steve Foster's strike from 15 yards found the target off the inside of the left post.

McManus could have restored Chester's two-goal cushion a minute from time, but his shot from a byline pass from Murphy crashed back off the bar.