Three Talking Points | Chesterfield FC VS Stockport County

Competitive edge: 

Going into the clash with Stockport County the Spireites certainly weren’t the favourites after conceding a last minute goal away at Torquay on Tuesday night and Stockport’s ruthless start. 

Before a ball was kicked between the two Stockport had accumulated nine points from a possible twelve. As well as coming from behind in games to grab maximum points showing their resilience and quality. 

Stockport are without a doubt one of the favourites to go up this year after spending big on the likes of John Rooney, James and Connor Jennings, and Jordon Williams. 

However, the Spireites still competed well with the Greater Manchester outfit. Not only did the blues defend well for majority of the game but they also looked dangerous especially through set pieces. They showed their ability to go toe to toe with one of the league’s best sides and had a good reaction following Tuesday’s heartbreak. 

It’s important to realise where Chesterfield and this Pemberton side are at the moment. As Pemberton says it’s time to be patient and realistic. Stockport are a top side and a tough side to play this season. 

Luke Rawson:

Young Luke Rawson earned his first start for the club, leading the line with the prolific Tom Denton. He may have been subbed for Nathan Tyson but his attitude and work rate didn’t go unnoticed. 

At times the forward line had little to work with but Rawson bought free kicks for his side which Chesterfield took advantage of. He also had a great defensive work rate as well as attacking, often working back to win the ball.

We’ve already seen his intelligent runs this season and with a little bit more service we could’ve seen the youngster grab another goal. 

Lack of creativity:

Jordon Cropper got the goal for the Spireites on the day after a free kick was blocked twice and found itself at Cropper’s feet, who took a touch and struck his effort beyond the Stockport keeper. Apart from that Chesterfield had very few clear cut chances. Tom Denton had a couple of hopeful headers towards goal but we didn’t really see the Stockport goalkeeper tested. 

So the question remains, where can Chesterfield get goals from? 

It was hoped that when Mandeville signed he was going to be the creative spark in the middle of the park but we have yet to see that on a consistent basis. Rowley missed out on a place in the squad once again and neither Kiwomya or Tyson had a real impact on the game when they came on. 

This gives Pemberton a selection and formation dilemma as the five back formation has yet to prove an attacking threat so far this season apart from set pieces and long throws. 

Route one to Tom Denton can be dangerous and hard to deal with but it’s important for this side to not be predictable.

Last season Weston got amongst the goals at crucial times but the blues can’t rely on that every game and Tom Denton will need support in the goal scoring department in the long term future. 

However, Chesterfield aren’t without options going into the rest of the season. Pemberton still has the likes of Tyson, Rawson, McKay, Hutchinson, Denton, Kiwomya, and Boden in attacking areas to pick from.

There’s still positives to take from the game even though it’s tough to take. Chesterfield will be hoping to put things right against Wealdstone. 

What needs to change to get the Spireites up the table?