Spireites Defeat Burnley.
Chesterfield came back from a two-goal deficit to seal victory against Burnley by a 3-2 scoreline in this pre-season friendly at the Proact Stadium. Lukas Jutkiewics and George Boyd netted for the away side, but goals from Jake Orrell, Armand Gnanduillet and Byron Harrison sealed a morale-boosting win for Dean Saunders’s men.
In the opening moments, Jutkiewics met a lofted ball into the area with his chest before volleying against the crossbar with the ricochet making its way towards a Chesterfield defender who cleared any remaining danger. With 14 minutes on the clock, Jutkiewics opened the scoring for the away side with a sliding finish on the six-yard line after a low cross from the right-hand aide made the chance possible.
Boyd then capitalised on a loose ball inside the area and struck on the half-volley, only for Darikwa to stop the ball on the line in its path towards the back of the net. On 22 minutes, Burnley doubled their advantage courtesy of Boyd after the midfielder latched onto a neat through-ball and evaded Tommy Lee before placing the ball calmly into the bottom left-hand corner of the net.
Three minutes later, the Spireites reduced the deficit as Darikwa drove forward and placed the ball at the feet of Orrell whose first-time strike from around eight yards beat Tom Heaton all-ends-up. Further up the field for a corner-kick, Ian Evatt rose to meet a powerful delivery but failed to connect and followed it up with a wayward strike with the ball unchallenged.
Just before the half-time whistle, Sam Morsy broke free of the visitors’ defence and looked destined to score only to be denied by a raised off-side flag.
After the break, Jutkiewics aimed to latch onto a low through-ball only for Darikwa to anticipate the threat and make a perfectly-timed challenge to remove any potential danger. Gboly Ariyibi entered the fray in the 51st minute and got straight involved with the action, as the winger’s individual run culminated in a low cross that was claimed impressively by Heaton.
Jay O’Shea’s short corner-kick was placed at the feet of Daniel Jones, who took two touches and eventually struck from an awkward angle but failed to force a save from Heaton as the ball sailed straight into the stands. On 67 minutes, the scores were levelled through a moment of individual brilliance from Armand Gnanduillet as his overhead-kick cannoned against the post and into the back of the net.
With the Spireites in the ascendancy, Morsy attempted a speculative effort from distance and watched the ball sail narrowly wide of the post with Heaton firmly rooted to the spot. Just two minutes of normal time were left to play when the Spireites completed the comeback and took the lead for the first time, as Harrison met a low cross and poked the ball past a flailing Heaton from close range.
