ANTHONY DUDLEY hopes his blossoming strike partnership with Akwasi Asante can fire Chester into the National League North play-offs.

The duo both found the net as the Blues ended a run of three successive defeats with a comfortable 4-1 home success against Boston United on Saturday.

Asante’s presence afforded Dudley plenty of space to cause problems for the Pilgrims’ defence, the 22-year-old producing a man of the match performance.

“It clicked in his first game against Darlington,” said Dudley of his link-up with Asante.

“We’ve become mates off the field and obviously the partnership is working on the pitch, which is great for both of us.

“When the ball goes into me he knows what I’m going to do and when the ball goes into him I can judge the flight of the ball and make a run because I know he will flick it around the corner.

“We just try and work together as a partnership.”

On his own performance, Dudley, on-loan from Salford City, continued: “I’m pleased. I thought I did alright, but I thought the man of the match award could have gone to any one of us.

“As a collective unit we were very good, we dominated the game and deserved the three points.”

The win helped Chester stay firmly in touch with the top seven and Dudley is confident the Blues can force their way into the play-off shake-up between now and the end of the season.

“We had to bounce back,” he said. “The performances of late weren’t up to the standards we set.

“We said before the game that no-one is going to take three points off us, so we had to come in and get the win.

“We are one or two points outside with 12 games to go, so we’ve got every chance of getting into the play-offs.

“We’ve got to go to Bradford Park Avenue on Saturday and then we’ve got Blyth at home on Tuesday, which are big games and ones that we are looking forward to.”

And Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley’s men will be on the right track if they can keep Dudley and Asante fit and firing.

Dudley scored an eye-catching effort on Saturday, explaining: “Craig Mahon was down the left and driving in, there was no-one within 10 yards of me so I pulled back to the edge of the box and timed the shot nicely, and it’s gone in the top corner.

“The managers tell me to believe in myself and it has paid off. I demand quite a bit of myself, so if I keep believing every time I go out on the pitch, good things happen.”