Bristol Rovers v Chesterfield FC Report
Chesterfield played out a 0-0 draw with Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium after a red card to striker Eoin Doyle.
In the opening stages, John-Joe O’Toole fired a shot high and wide of the crossbar. A Jamie Devitt cross followed, but his lofted pass was too close to goalkeeper Steve Mildenhall.
A Gary Roberts free-kick found Armand Gnanduillet lurking in the box, but Mildenhall gathered comfortably. With 28 minutes played, Sam Morsy had to be replaced by Ollie Banks because of injury. Moments later, Doyle got on the end of a Chesterfield corner and attempted to put it back across goal, but Mildenhall was there to gather possession.
On the stroke of half-time, Devitt took a corner for the Spireites. Roberts met the ball at the far post but his effort went wide of the target.
The first period was one of few chances, as neither side could get a hold on the game.
After the restart, Doyle spurned a fantastic opportunity. He met Gnanduillet’s through ball, then tried to chip the goalkeeper when he should have placed his shot low past Mildenhall instead.
On the hour mark, the home side’s claims for a penalty were turned down after Ian Evatt was thought to have handled the ball inside the Chesterfield area. The away side then had their own appeals for a penalty after Doyle was brought down by the opposition goalkeeper, but the referee was unmoved.
Doyle was then shown a yellow card following a mis-timed tackle. Roberts had another effort from the back post saved superbly by Mildenhall.
Because of injury, Evatt was replaced by Sam Hird. Moments later, Micheal Smith broke free of the visiting defence but his cross was too close to Chesterfield goalkeeper Tommy Lee.
With five minutes to go, Jimmy Ryan had a shot from 25 yards but Mildenhall was equal to it. Seconds later, Doyle was shown his second yellow of the game and was forced to leave proceedings after a clumsy tackle on an opposition player.
It was then announced that there would be four minutes of additional time.
In the closing stages, Bristol Rover’s midfielder Ollie Clarke had a shot from distance and Lee was subsequently forced into a strong save to his right-hand side.
A point for the Spireites, but the bad run which has seen them pick up just three points from six games continues.
