Spireites Cruise to Victory Against Crawley Town.

Chesterfield cruised to a 3-0 victory over Crawley Town last night at the Proact Stadium, with Irish talisman Eoin Doyle netting either side of a sublime Jay O’Shea finish to claim an important three points in the race for a spot in the League One play-offs.

Spireites boss Paul Cook named an unchanged side from Saturday’s defeat against Derby County in the fourth round of this year’s FA Cup for this particular encounter. 

With only a few minutes on the clock, Doyle broke free of the visitors’ defence with the help of an Armand Gnanduillet header but the flag was already raised for off-side. The Ivorian striker then took up free-kick duties, firing into the wall on this particular occasion which ultimately led to a defensive clearance.

Hoping for a penalty, Izale McLeod went to ground under a challenge from Charlie Raglan although the referee deemed the tackle to be fair and play continued as normal. Waiting inside the area, Jimmy Smith connected with a driven cross before directing the ball onto the crossbar and out for a goal-kick.

In the 34th minute, the Spireites went in front through a moment of individual brilliance as Doyle controlled with his chest and took another touch prior to firing low and hard past a flailing Price. On the stroke of half-time, Sam Morsy struck from range but failed to force a save from the goalkeeper due to a defender blocking the ball in its path towards goal.

Just six minutes had been played in the second period before Cook’s men grabbed a second courtesy of O’Shea, who glided past his marker and several others prior to thumping the ball into the top left-hand corner of the net from an absolutely stunning distance of 25 yards. Two minutes later, Chesterfield had a third through Doyle who went one-on-one with a defenceless Price and finished with relative ease to up his own tally to two for the evening.

Doyle could have had a hat-trick, if not for an impressive save by Price after the striker mistakenly opted for a chipped attempt from a matter of yards. Then, the tempo of this game decreased rapidly with the away side expressing a resignation of defeat in their general build-up play. 

A member of the Crawley attack released a low cross into the area, but all Daniel Jones had to do was stick out a leg and clear the ball to safety. Surprisingly, the fourth official signalled four minutes of additional time in which nothing of note occurred and as a result the Spireites claimed a place in the League One play-offs until at least the weekend.