A MARVEL-ous Display From Blues Against Wrexham

 

          Photo by Michael South Photography

Well, where do I start with this one?!

After a 2-2 draw away at Dorking, which saw Ollie Banks play most of the game in goal, and a 1-0 win over Aldershot, I was still fairly nervous heading into this game. Of course, a 2-2 draw with 10 men and a midfielder in net for most of the game isn't the worst result in the world. Add to that a 1-0 win in blazing heat in a game where we could have had more, and things were looking fairly good for the Spireites. However, Wrexham are one of the sides that will be challenging us for that top spot to get out of this awful league. (It's my own blog, I can say it.) Considering this, a loss to them even this early in the season could have put a real spanner in the works for us in a league where you can't afford to lose points.

What was I even worried about?! 

The torrential rain didn't stop over 6,000 Spireites from heading to the ground and nearly 2,000 Wrexham fans reaching Chesterfield. After finishing my match preview for North Derbyshire Radio Sport, I headed up to the Kop to soak up the atmosphere. The Town fans were in good voice already with still about twenty minutes to go before kick off. My nerves soon turned into excitement and as the ground filled up, I was ready for us to beat these. 

It didn't take long for the Wrexham fans to throw a flare on the pitch (right in front of their own 'keeper...) as the coin toss was taking place. It turned out that we had to swap ends though, which I really don't like, unless of course we score the only goals of the game in the first half in front of the Kop. It didn't take long for us to get the first goal. Just ten minutes had passed before we had a lovely bit of play down the right wing. King played the ball to Mandeville who chipped it back to him down the wing. King took the ball with him, cut back into the penalty area and slotted the ball into the far corner of the net. 1-0 Town and a team celebration in front of a bouncing Kop. A few minutes later Chesterfield could have had another when Asante hit the post but it wasn't to be. Wrexham piled on the pressure for a little spell with us having to make about four blocks in as many seconds. Wrexham's pressing didn't last long though. After twenty minutes, the Wrexham 'keeper took a heavy touch on the ball that had been played back to him, allowing Dobra to take the ball off him and cut it back to Banks who fired the ball into the net from about 25 yards. 2-0 Town with only 22 minutes played. That's how the first half finished and we were looking pretty good. Whilst it didn't seem like Wrexham were going to come back at all in the first half, they would have had half-time to regroup and come out fighting. Sort of.

Wrexham did spend the second half piling pressure on Chesterfield, but an absolutely fantastic defensive display meant that they didn't get a look in. Fitzsimons made some good calls and looked strong as he came out to punch the ball away in Superman-like fashion a couple of times. Grimes and Williams remained solid in defence too, making some good blocks. There isn't really too much to report from the second half other than a continuation of a fantastic team performance from Chesterfield, the likes of which haven't been seen for a long time. Oh, and Wrexham fans threw on another couple of flares (yes, at 2-0 down) before making an early exit. Paul Cook's style of play was definitely on display Tuesday night and the team looked like they wanted it and were very much together. The whole night was very much Chesterfield's and the atmosphere was second to none. If that performance is anything to go by, there'll be many more nights like that at the Technique Stadium this season. That win will no doubt give the team confidence heading into another big game away at Notts County on Saturday.

Up the Blues!

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