Chester 3 Hereford 0

The 3-0 scoreline justified the Blues dominance of the contest as a 15th minute strike from Matty Hughes and second half efforts from substitutes John Pritchard and Deane Smalley saw them stretch their unbeaten run to eight games in all competitions.

After a superb September, the Blues made light work of their October opener as they looked assured throughout against the struggling Bulls.

Shortly before kick-off, the visitors announced the appointment of former Gloucester City boss Marc Richards as their new head coach.

The news failed to inspire the Hereford players, however, who laboured at times against the Blues.

A bright start from the hosts saw the lively Blues pair of Iwan Murray and Craig Mahon causing problems in advanced positions.

On eight minutes, Mahon drew a foul in the wide left position and whipped in the resulting free-kick, which was nervously headed behind for a corner by the visitors' defence.

Dan Mooney was the next to try his luck as he connected well with a low left-footed effort from 20 yards out that whistled inches past Bulls keeper Martin Horsell's post.

The visitors rarely threatened in the opening exchanges, but spurned a decent opening on 14 minutes when Lewis Hall's long throw into the box eluded the Blues defence and fell kindly for the unmarked Marlon Jackson whose left-footed half volley sailed over the bar.

And Chester were quick to punish such wasteful finishing a minute later when Mahon did brilliantly to win back possession out wide before playing in Gary Stopforth whose cutback was steered home from 12 yards out by Hughes courtesy of a deflection.

Pursuing a second, Chester were presented with a central free-kick just outside the box but Murray's effort lacked conviction and drifted wide of Horsell's goal.

It took almost half an hour for Hereford to impose themselves in attack and it was former Blues forward Harry White who tested home keeper Grant Shenton with a powerfully struck dipping shot that had to be forced behind for a corner.

Shenton then dealt superbly with a succession of aerial balls into the box with some confident handling and decisive clearances keeping Hereford at bay.

Chester soon rediscovered their fluency in attack as Hughes drove at the heart of the home defence before he was cynically scythed down by Jordan Culliane-Liburd on the edge of the box.

Murray was again handed free-kick duties once more but his strike produced the same result as his initial effort.

Referee Sam Mulhall then angered the Blues players and the home faithful as he waved away the hosts fervent appeals for a penalty after Hughes was shoved to the ground by Bulls defender Harvey Smith inside the box.

The incident left Hughes lying prone on the ground, with substitute Deane Smalley replacing him just before the interval.

And the Blues' attacking instincts surfaced quickly after the restart when Mooney fed Mahon who fired inches wide from 30 yards.

All eyes were on the referee on 57 minutes when Hereford midfielder Mike McGrath went to ground under a challenge in the box but was summarily booked for diving.

Chester responded immediately as Mahon's through ball freed Mooney, but the midfielder could only shoot into the side netting when well placed.

Shenton then preserved the hosts' lead as he pulled off a flying reaction save to tip McGrath's header over the bar from point blank range.

But McGrath's eventful evening culminated two minutes later as he was shown a second yellow card for clumsily bringing down Mahon.

The hosts capitalised on their numerical advantage within minutes when Pritchard latched onto a raking pass from Jon Moran before sending a crisp finish into the far corner.

And, after sustained pressure from the hosts, they added a third in the 87th minute when Gary Stopforth's clipped cross to the back post was headed home by Smalley.

There was still time for Hereford to salvage a consolation late on, but substitute Jordan Lam headed wide at the back post to compound their misery.