STRIKER Julian Alsop secured a point for Swansea as they extended their unbeaten Third Division run to seven matches.

The Swans made two changes from the side which drew with Rotherham last week. Teenager Lee Jenkins took over from the suspended Martin Thomas in midfield while Jason Price, back from Wales U21 duty, took over from the injured Richie Appleby.

Strikers Steve Watkin and Julian Alsop were declared fit after suffering from a virus.

The match marked a nostalgic homecoming for Chester-born Swans midfielder Dave O'Gorman who had several members of his family lending their support in a noisy Deva Stadium.

Financially crippled Chester faced a winding up order on Monday over unpaid debts but manager Kevin Ratcliffe put thoughts of court to one side and made one change as Chester defended a five-match unbeaten run. Midfielder Chris Priest failed a fitness test so Shaun Reid came in.

Despite facing a strong wind Chester made a bright start, forcing Swansea on the back foot and giving Bound and Smith little time to settle.

When Davidson broke down the right Murphy and Smith went up and the Swansea defender came off worst, needing treatment.

While Swansea took a few minutes to get to grips with the wind, Price soon showed that there was no substitute for pace and could have been awarded a penalty on seven minutes after appearing to be tripped by the keeper.

Referee David Laws, however, took Price aside, suggesting that he had taken a dive. Price was quickly back in the thick of it and should have capitalised when he had a chance on 16 minutes.

O'Gorman set up the opening and, as Chester were caught in their own offside trap, Price raced through only to push wide.

At the other end Chester might have scored when Beckett slipped the attention of Howard and forced Freestone to turn his shot behind.

The Swansea keeper made another good save from the corner, palming it behind under pressure from Murphy, before Swansea broke with Price only to see the effort come to nothing due to a poor cross. Chester then twice went close and snatched the lead on 24 minutes when Beckett produced a right wing cross and the unmarked MURPHY planted a firm header into a corner of Freestone's net.

Five minutes later, however, Swansea were back in the game after a three-man move resulted in ALSOP hitting the net.

Cusack started the move on half way, O'Gorman took up the running on the edge of the area and slipped a pass into Alsop and the big striker squeezed a 10-yard shot just inside the post.

It was just what Swansea needed, especially after the missed early chances from Price. After Reid had been cautioned for a foul, Jenkins had to go off for treatment for a few minutes but Swansea were never seriously troubled when down to ten men.

Just before the break Swansea missed a glorious opportunity to snatch the lead. Home keeper Brown was forced out of his area to head clear from the chasing Price but the midfielder, together with O'Gorman, Alsop and Steve Watkin, failed to take advantage of the extra numbers.

Half-time: Chester City 1, Swansea City 1

Swansea almost fell behind within 30 seconds of the restart. With time to clear, the visitors hesitated for Flitcroft to release Beckett only for Freestone to pull off another critical save.

Now faced with a strong wind in their faces Swansea seemed to be putting together more moves with a series of accurate passes but the final delivery often left something to be desired. When Cusack, O'Gorman and Price moved swiftly down the left, Price produced a poor cross.

Next, sloppy Chester defending let in O'Gorman but his powerful cross was cut out by Brown.

Swansea continued to look threatening and, when they broke quickly out of defence with Smith leading the charge, Alsop slipped through to Price who again hit a poor cross.

There was little to chose between the teams now and the first side to make a mistake was going to find it costly.

When the Swans next broke down the middle Price was chopped down and a yellow card was given to Cross.

No sooner had Swansea started to move forward with great effect when again the attack broke down and Smith carved out an opening for Flitcroft who drove straight at Freestone from 25 yards.

As the pressure started to mount on the Swansea defence Reid and Smith combined to set up another shooting opportunity for Flitcroft but he was denied a shot on goal by a Jenkins tackle.

Despite sometimes looking good going forward, Swansea had yet to test Brown in the second half while Freestone was regularly kept on his toes, diving hurriedly on one occasion to cover a low drill from Richardson before tipping over a header from Beckett.

Swansea finally managed to hit the target when Alsop cut inside from the left and tried his luck from 20 yards only to see his effort caught cleanly by Brown.

Swansea made their first change on 73 minutes. Pulling off O'Gorman and sending on substitute midfielder Jonathan Coates.

As the match headed into the final quarter Chester put Swansea under considerable pressure and came close to snatching the winner on several occasions.

When Flitcroft delivered a cross to the far post, Murphy rose above everyone only to see his header go over.

Nine minutes from the end Swansea had a let-off when Jenkins lost possession after being give a a poor pass by Price.

Beckett saw his opportunity and burst through a gap before firing a shot which rebounded off a post.

Swansea were now pulling everyone back but they still had the odd opportunity to claim all three points.

On one occasion Coates cut in from the left wing and drove in a low cross which the keeper did well to smother under pressure from Watkin.

Chester; Brown, Davidson, Cross, Richardson, Crosby, Woods, Flitcroft, Reid, Murphy, Beckett, Smith. Subs: Wright, Shelton, Jones.

Swansea; Freestone, Jones, Howard, Cusack, Smith, Bound, Price, Jenkins,Alsop, Watkin, O'Gorman. Subs: Bird, Lacey, Coates.

REFEREE: D Laws, Whitley Bay.