A GOAL deep into added time from midfielder Peter Smyth enabled Chorley to strengthen their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages of the UniBond League Challenge Cup and to gain compensation for two league defeats at the hands of Radcliffe Borough.

The Magpies were well-served in midfield by former Altrincham and Morecambe player David Lowe, newly signed from Winsford United, who made his presence felt in a fast-moving cup-tie full of incident.

Chorley had the boost of a goal after just two minutes when Borough's Simon Kelly mistimed a header to present David Eatock with the chance to go through and slip the ball past Danny Hurst.

Strikers Eatock and David Sutch caused the Radcliffe defence plenty of problems throughout and Sutch was only just too high with a clever lob over the stranded Hurst.

But in an evenly- contested first half, Borough had their chances, too, and Eamonn Kelly wasted a simple-looking one with only Simon Marsh to beat.

Radcliffe had a great opportunity to equalise on 52 minutes when Mark Schofield wrestled David Bean to the ground to concede a penalty but Marsh dived to make a splendid save from Mark Dempsey's spot-kick.

However Marsh seemed at fault five minutes later when he dived forward to gather Dempsey's shot but spilled the ball, leaving Ian Lunt to stroke it into the empty net.

Magpies' manager Ken Wright was ordered from the dug-out by the referee for alleged abusive language to a linesman some ten minutes from time - his second such dismissal this season -and Chorley came under sustained pressure from Borough in the closing minutes.

But four minutes into stoppage time, Smyth tried a snap-shot from 22 yards which Hurst badly misjudged and the ball bounced over the diving keeper's arm and into the net.

It was Chorley's second win out of three games in the Group Stages of the competition.

RESULT: RADCLIFFE BOROUGH...1 CHORLEY...2