Spireites Victorious Over Milton Keynes Dons.

Chesterfield came from behind to claim a 2-1 victory against Milton Keynes Dons last night at stadiummk, with Lewis Baker’s first-half strike made irrelevant by two second-half goals from both Gary Roberts and Caolan Lavery.

Spireites boss Paul Cook made one forced alteration from Saturday’s convincing win at home to Fleetwood Town, with the injured Daniel Jones being replaced by Jay O’Shea. 

In the opening moments, Daniel Powell took matters into his own hands with a lone run forwards before firing against Sam Hird who managed to produce a vital and absolutely stunning block on the six-yard line. Tendayi Darikwa managed to find Ollie Banks with an intricate pull-back, only for the midfielder to fire low and wide of the post from around eight yards when expected to score. 

With 28 minutes on the clock, the home side took the lead through a moment of individual brilliance as Baker’s stunning strike into the top left-hand corner of the net from around 25 yards left Tommy Lee with no chance of stopping it. Looking for an equaliser, the ball fell to Hird in an inviting position near the six-yard line but somehow the defender blazed the ball into the stands. 

Involved once again, only this time Hird mis-placed a pass and allowed Ben Reeves an opportunity at goal but the home side’s midfielder failed to capitalise and shot straight into the palms of Lee. On the stroke of half-time, Banks took up free-kick duties in a central area and struck the side-netting with force from approximately 20 yards. 

Immediately after the break, Lavery broke free of the hosts’ defence and fired against the leg of Jordan Spence who eventually cleared any remote signs of danger. Will Grigg had a golden chance to force at least a save from Lee, but hesitation allowed Darikwa to produce an impressive tackle that ultimately led to a turnover of possession. 

On 66 minutes, the Spireites got back on level terms through a neat finish by Roberts that followed an incredible piece of skill to beat his marker all-ends-up on the edge of the area. Showing immense amounts of pace and power, Powell evaded Darikwa and in the end directed the ball high and waywardly wide of the post.

With just ten minutes left to play in this contest, Milton Keynes Dons captain Dean Lewington received his second yellow card of the evening as a consequence of a cynical foul on Gboly Ariyibi near the half-way line. In the final minute of normal time, Chesterfield completed the comeback and sealed all three points as Lavery directed Darikwa’s low cross past McLoughlin from the short distance of six yards.