Spireites Defeat Fleetwood Town.

Chesterfield sealed victory over Fleetwood Town by a 1-0 scoreline at Highbury Stadium on Saturday afternoon. Sylvan Ebanks-Blake was the only player to get on the scoresheet, with the striker's first-half finish acting as the difference between the two sides. 

Dean Saunders made just two alterations from last Saturday's home defeat against Scunthorpe United, as Sam Hird and Rai Simons took the places of the suspended Daniel Jones and Lee Novak whose wife recently gave birth. 

In the opening moments, Jack Sowerby tried his luck from distance and failed to trouble Tommy Lee who gathered with relative ease. Chris Herd was next to shoot from an unrealistic distance and watched his forceful strike sail waywardly wide of the post. 

On the edge of the area, David Ball picked up possession before shooting straight in the direction of Lee who palmed the ball to safety. Antoni Sarcevic’s individual run culminated in a low effort that bounced into the path of Lee who claimed possession with ease for a second time. 

Waiting inside the area, Sylvan Ebanks-Blake struck first-time from close range and forced a diving save to the left-hand side by Chris Maxwell. With 30 minutes on the clock, Ebanks-Blake put the Spireites in front with a convincing finish past a flailing Maxwell after latching onto a loose ball near the six-yard line. 

Just before the half-time whistle, Simons battled with an opposing defender before striking against the body of his marker and watching the ball bounce to safety. 

After the break, Amari’i Bell crossed towards Ball who headed past Lee and into the back of the net only to realise that the linesman's flag was already raised for off-side. Involved once again, Ball made his way through a raft of bodies before having his mediocre effort saved by a resolute Lee. 

An advance into the area on Hird's behalf ended with a poor effort that was always rising and cleared Maxwell's crossbar by a considerable distance. Drew Talbot shifted the ball onto his stronger foot and struck from the edge of the area, only for the defender's effort to evade the post by a narrow margin. 

A marauding run down the left-hand side by Bell ended with a wayward cross that sailed straight into the stands, which simply added to levels of frustration amongst the home support. For the full four minutes of additional time, the Spireites retained possession successfully and claimed a valuable three points from this individual trip to Lancashire.