Cross-border derby


The Cross-border derby is a football match played between Wrexham and Chester City/Chester.
The clubs are 12 miles apart but are Welsh and English respectively, though Chester's Deva Stadium straddles the England–Wales border, and its pitch lies entirely in Wales.
Wrexham edged the English-Welsh derby with 30 victories against Chester's 26 in Football League meetings. Between 1986 and 2005, the sides were in the same division in just one season but they were then Football League Two opponents in the three campaigns from 2005–06 to 2007–08. In 2009–10 the sides clashed again in the Conference National after Chester followed Wrexham out of the Football League. Games between the two are usually moved to Sunday, with a 12:00 kick off, minimising time for the consumption of alcohol and the risk of the two sets of supporters clashing. In the 2012–13 season, Chester won promotion to return to the Conference Premier after a three-year absence, and played Wrexham at the Racecourse ground, in a highly anticipated derby, as this was the first since Chester re-formed as a fan owned club. All away fans had to travel to the match via coaches and police escort and were unable to travel by train, unlike most years. Despite going into the game with a poor form of recent games, Chester won the match 2-0, recording their first win of the season. The most recent meeting saw Wrexham win 2-0 in March 2018. The two teams are currently separated due to Chester's relegation from the National League at the end of the 2017-18 season which sees them play their football in the National League North, one division below Wrexham.
The Cross-border derby is often considered to be one of the biggest rivalries in the lower leagues of English football, due to the close proximity of Wrexham and Chester as they are the largest settlements in the area and the only clubs in that area to have played in The Football League. The Welsh-English divide also makes it unique to other football derbies in Britain, as national identity is a large part of the two teams.

Achievements

CompetitionChesterWrexham
Football League20 seasons in tier 3
'
15 seasons in tier 3
'		31 seasons in tier 3
'
4 seasons in tier 2
'
FA Cup5th Round
1976–77
1979–80		Quarter-final
1973–74
1977–78
1996–97
League CupSemi-final
1974–75		Quarter-final
1960–61
1977–78

Head-to-head summary

Chester City vs Wrexham (1888–2009)

Chester FC vs Wrexham (2013–)

CompetitionChester winsDrawWrexham winsGoal Difference
Conference National3348–11
FA Cup0000–0
FA Trophy0000–0
Matches in Chester2216–5
Matches in Wrexham1132–6
Overall3348–11

Head-to-head fixtures

Chester City vs Wrexham

Chester FC vs Wrexham

DateHomeScoreAwayVenueAtt.Competition
31 Aug 2013Wrexham0–2ChesterRacecourse Ground6,0372013–14 Football Conference
19 Apr 2014Chester0–0WrexhamDeva Stadium4,3262013–14 Football Conference
22 Sep 2014Chester2–1WrexhamDeva Stadium3,1832014–15 Football Conference
7 Mar 2015Wrexham1–0ChesterRacecourse Ground6,3362014–15 Football Conference
3 Oct 2015Chester3–2WrexhamDeva Stadium3,7412015–16 National League
19 Mar 2016Wrexham3–0ChesterRacecourse Ground6,4592015–16 National League
24 Sep 2016Wrexham0–0ChesterRacecourse Ground5,0582016–17 National League
21 Jan 2017Chester1–1WrexhamDeva Stadium3,9612016–17 National League
8 Nov 2017Chester0–1WrexhamDeva Stadium4,0792017–18 National League
11 Mar 2018Wrexham2–0ChesterRacecourse Ground6,5112017–18 National League

Crossing the divide

Chester City and Wrexham

The following players have played for Chester City and Wrexham. Footballers currently playing in one of the teams are marked bold. Appearances and goals include League only.
PlayerChester careerAppsGoalsWrexham careerAppsGoals
Sam Aiston1997–992302007–08, 2008–09380
John Anderson1960–6117151956–59, 1961–629380
David Artell2005–078042013, 2013–14363
Jackie Arthur1946–472431946??
Neil Ashton2009–10002010–152049
Anthony Barry2008–104312016–17312
David Bayliss2004–05902005–06220
Wally Bellett1961–621211962–6320
Dean Bennett2006–083212004–06472
Gary Bennett1985–88, 1990–92, 1997–99254641992–95, 199713682
Stan Bennion1963–652031959–635418
Chris Blackburn1999–20038162010–11431
Michael Blackwood1999922000–02462
Phil Bolland2002–06, 2006–0816782008180
Terry Bradbury1969–719021967–69783
Drewe Broughton2006–071422008162
David Brown2001–021322010–1191
Jack Capper1959–613701949–55480
Paul Carden2000, 2000–01, 2001–051663200800
Paul Comstive1991–935761984–87998
Jonathan Cross1998–20005211991–9811912
Geoff Davies1972–733251973–756715
Robert Davies1888–1891??1892–1895??
Ian Edwards1976–79104361979–827620
Jake Edwards20061011998–2000111
Ken Ellis1946–47101949–5050
George Evans1963–6911301955–631759
Robert Evans1904–05101905–06??
Spencer Evans??????
Steve Fox1984–853341978–8214210
Robbie Foy20051302005–06173
Brian Griffiths1958–59211952–582211
Jack Haines1955–56478???
Jay Harris2008–093102010–15, 2020-18216
Jim Harvey1993–9400198760
Ron Hewitt1962–632961951–57, 1959–6023194
Joe Hinnigan1988–905421987–88291
Reg Holland1966601960–661180
Chris Holroyd2006–084742017–20196016
Richard Hope2004–052822007–08330
Peter Houghton1985–888513198452
Dennis Isherwood1946–4730???
Arthur Johnson1962301960–63520
Colin Jones1959–60301960–196100
Gordon Jones???192111
Harvey Jones1960–611901959–60130
Martin Lane1982–87, 1989–912743198860
Paul Linwood2006–091224200590
Jack Lipsham1903–06, 1907–13, 1919–21??1913–19??
Gordon Livsey1971–724401967–71790
Brian Lloyd1977–819401971–772660
Stuart Mason1973–7713771966, 1968–731853
Billy Matthews??????
Jimmy McGill1962–643201964170
Tony McLoughlin1967–68401966–67299
Sammy McMillan1969–701801963–6714952
Mike Metcalf1963–69221681957–6312158
Grenville Millington1968–69, 1973–82, 198329001983–84130
Ian Moir1967–682531968–72, 1973–7516520
Elfed Morris1962–68167691960–6296
Bill Myerscough1962–6336101963–64355
Sean Newton2007–08202015–2017618
Roger Preece1990–9617041986–9011112
Andy Provan1968–7082181970–725110
Bernard Purdie1971–7363141968–70103
Dennis Reeves1963–6713901967–69150
Gordon Richards1958–6174161952–589624
Nick Richardson1994, 1995–200118113199442
Kevin Roberts2006-098172017-2019720
John Ruddy2005–0640200750
Ian Rush1978–8034141998–99170
Paul Rutherford2005–20093812016–1266
Mike Salmon19821601987, 1987–891000
Ronnie Sinclair1996–987001984110
Fred Smallwood1934–35101933–3411
Alex Smith1998–99, 2003–045262004–06440
Dean Spink2000–022121997–2000859
George Spruce1958–616301948–521353
Steve Stacey1969101966–691056
Tommy Tilston1949–512271951–547829
Brian Tinnion1971–72301968–7627954
Graham Turner1968–7321851964–68770
Jonathan Walters2006–072692005–06385
Gavin Ward2007–08002008–09540
Keith Webber1969–7174141964–667333
Don Weston1968–69301958–60, 1966–688440
Ashley Westwood2006–082132008–10613
Shaun Whalley2004–05302008–09164
Billy White1961–62133196180
Danny Williams2004501999–2001, 2004–0816614
Mike Williams1982–843441984–911783
Barry Wright1962–63101959–62110
Dick Yates1946–4752371947–483118

Chester FC and Wrexham

The following players have played for Chester FC and Wrexham. Footballers currently playing in one of the teams are marked bold. Appearances and goals include League only.
PlayerChester careerAppsGoalsWrexham careerAppsGoals
Wes Baynes2011–136282007–11748
James Caton2014112015–201640
Elliott Durrell2016–174682014–2015304
Gareth Evans2010–11102004–09260
Luke Holden2011–12322010151
Blaine Hudson2016–173222014-16737
Johnny Hunt2015–179242010–14, 2014–1510813
Jason Jarrett2013–142901999–200010
Danny Livesey2018–2019002014160
Levi Mackin2012–131612003–09612
Danny O'Brien201691201520
Jamie Reed2013–142222005–0870
John Rooney2013–16112252016–173311
Christian Smith2011–123162008–09, 2009–11427
Lee Trundle2013302001–039427
Dominic Vose2018-502015–162810
Marc Williams2012–1350102005–118017

Chester City, Chester and Wrexham

The following players have played for Chester City, Chester FC and Wrexham. Footballers currently playing in one of the teams are marked bold. Appearances and goals include League only.
PlayerChester City careerAppsGoalsChester careerAppsGoalsWrexham careerAppsGoals
Paul Linwood2006–0912242012–14582200590
Kevin Roberts2006-098172019-002017-2019720

Derby appearances and goals

Chester FC vs Wrexham

Below shows the most appeared players and most goals scored within a derby match between Chester and Wrexham. Appearances and Goals include all competitions.

Top all time appearances

After the match played 11 March 2018.
PlayerYearsPlayed ForApps
John Rooney2013–16
2016–17		 Chester
Wrexham		7
Mark Carrington2013– Wrexham7
Blaine Hudson2014–16
2016–17		 Wrexham
Chester		6
Johnny Hunt2010–14, 2014–15
2015–17		 Wrexham
Chester		6
Rob Evans2012–17 Wrexham6
Craig Mahon2013–2020 Chester6
Manny Smith2014-2016, 2017-2020 Wrexham6
Ryan Astles2016-18 Chester5
Neil Ashton2010–15 Wrexham4
Joe Clarke2011–15 Wrexham4
Ben Heneghan2014–16 Chester4
Connor Jennings2014–16 Wrexham4
Paul Rutherford2016- Wrexham4
Tom Shaw2015–2018 Chester4
Wesley York2014–16 Wrexham4
---4

All time goal scorers

After the match played 11 March 2018.
PlayerYearsPlayed ForGoals
Connor Jennings2014–16 Wrexham2
John Rooney2013–16
2016–17		 Chester
Wrexham		1+1
Blaine Hudson2014–16
2016–17		 Wrexham
Chester		1+0
Dominic Vose2015–16
2018		 Wrexham
Chester		1+0
James Alabi2016–17 Chester1
Nicky Deverdics2018–19 Wrexham1
Rob Evans2012–17 Wrexham1
Ben Heneghan2014–16 Chester1
Craig Hobson2014–16 Chester1
Kayden Jackson2015–16 Wrexham1
Paul Linwood2012–14 Chester1
Kieron Morris2015 Wrexham1
Shaun Pearson2017- Wrexham1
Scott Quigley2018 Wrexham1
Kane Richards2014–17 Chester1
Tom Shaw2015–2018 Chester1
Lewis Turner2013, 2013–14 Chester1