Jennings brace sinks Chester

Dale Jennings' brace helped Barnsley avoid an upset as they beat non-league Chester 3-0 in their FA Cup second-round replay.

The two sides drew 0-0 in the first meeting yet a shock never looked on the cards as Kane Hemmings opened the scoring before Jennings netted twice for the Tykes, who now face Middlesbrough at Oakwell in the third round. Chester were unbeaten in their previous eight home games but the visitors set out to silence the crowd early on and they would have been ahead had Michael Kay not got in the way of Luke Berry's sweetly-struck effort. The Tykes did lead after 16 minutes through Hemmings, who pounced to rifle into the roof of the net when Peter Ramage's blocked shot fell kindly into his path. Barnsley continued to press and Jennings came close on two occasions while Conor Hourihane's effort was brilliantly stopped by Blues goalkeeper Jon Worsnop in between. The Vanarama Conference side's spirit never waned but their hosts were still carving out more chances and doubled their advantage 63 minutes in. Jennings, who had seen a goal-bound effort stopped by Matt Brown's chest moments earlier, finished off a counter-attacking move with a first-time finish which went in off a post. Craig Hobson squandered Chester's best chance in the final 15 minutes by heading wide from close-range, while Brown also glanced off target, and Jennings' second of the night two minutes from time ensured Steve Burr's men exited the competition with a whimper. The tricky winger weaved his way into the box and capitalised on some fortune before placing home a similar finish to his first goal to round off a comfortable evening for the Tykes.