Spireites Defeated in FA Cup Fourth Round.

Derby County triumphed over Chesterfield by a 2-0 scoreline at the iPro Stadium yesterday afternoon and booked their place in the fifth round of this year’s FA Cup. Darren Bent netted a first-half opener and Will Hughes grabbed a second in the closing stages, although the result doesn’t act as a true reflection of proceedings in this particular tie.

Spireites boss Paul Cook made one change from last Saturday’s defeat against Swindon Town, with Jay O’Shea replacing the injured Gary Roberts.

In the opening moments, Bent broke free of the defence before realising that the linesman’s flag was already raised for off-side. Cyrus Christie found space on the right-hand side before crossing low, only for Sam Clucas to anticipate the danger and fire the ball out of play for a throw-in.

After beating his marker on the edge of the area, Armand Gnanduillet tried his luck from an awkward angle but Kelle Roos stood firm and prevented an opening goal. With 20 minutes on the clock, the home side broke the deadlock through Bent’s close-range header in the second phase of a corner-kick that highlighted some questionable defending on the Spireites’ behalf.

O’Shea almost netted an immediate equaliser with a sensational strike from distance, which in the end sailed narrowly wide of the post. As the first 45 minutes came to an end, Clucas struck first-time from eight yards but ultimately failed to force a save from Roos.

Immediately after the break, Daniel Jones advanced towards the hosts’ area before crossing for Eoin Doyle whose header lacked conviction and led to Roos readying himself for a goal-kick. On the counter-attack, Bent went one-on-one with Lee but the goalkeeper won this individual battle with a save that required the help of his legs.

On as a substitute, Johnny Russell took advantage of the open nature in this contest and by-passed Lee with a shot only to be denied by a magnificent sliding interception on the line by Tendayi Darikwa. Twisting and turning near the penalty spot, Doyle eventually decided to shoot and directed the ball straight into the stands.

Simon Dawkins rose highest above everybody else to meet a driven cross from the right-hand side, prior to heading against the crossbar which sent shockwaves through the home support. On 82 minutes, the Rams doubled their advantage and sealed victory as Hughes capitalised on a Clucas mistake to finish past a helpless Lee from eight yards.

For the full four minutes of additional time, neither side created any meaningful chances as Derby County progressed to the fifth round and ended Chesterfield’s participation in this particular competition for another year.