It was a day for the statisticians rather than the purists at Victory Park where the promotion-chasing Magpies collected three more precious points against a Mickleover side battling to avoid the drop. In the end, the league’s leading scorer Steve Foster’s 20th goal of the season was just enough to see Chorley to their 10th home win, while the redoubtable Magpies’ defence kept its 12th clean-sheet of the campaign and the ninth at Victory Park.

Foster struck two minutes in to the second half when he darted in to score with a near-post header, “It was a big win for us,” said Chorley boss Garry Flitcroft. “We had to battle for it but the extra bit of quality we have saw us through.”

Results elsewhere, with four of Chorley’s closest rivals for a play-offs spot also winning, gave this hard-earned victory added value.