Chesterfield FC v Burton Albion Report
Chesterfield suffered a 2-0 defeat at home to Burton Albion.
In the opening stages, Lee Bell's shot from range was deflected out for a corner. A scramble in the Chesterfield box led to a visiting player's effort hitting one post, then bouncing off the other and away from goal.
After ten minutes, the Brewers opened the scoring. Adam McGurk went past Sam Hird like a knife through butter and finished smartly past goalkeeper Tommy Lee. Four minutes later, the away side doubled their lead. McGurk again with the finish after his header beat Lee to his right-hand side.
An Eoin Doyle volley was then deflected away from goal, after a Ritchie Humphreys cross that was palmed down towards the Irishman by Jordan Pickford. On the counter, Robbie Weir should have extended the visitors' lead, but he volleyed over after he met a cross at the back post.
Chris Porter's headed effort went wide of the target following a cross from Drew Talbot, as Chesterfield searched for a route back into this contest. A chipped pass from Tendayi Darikwa found Porter but he failed to hit the target once again.
On the stroke of half-time, Gary Roberts created a chance at goal for midfielder Jimmy Ryan although his effort never troubled Pickford in the Burton goal.
Jay O'Shea replaced the injured Drew Talbot at the break.
Chesterfield began the second period in the manner in which they ended the first, with the majority of possession. Bell then fed McGurk a through ball, but defender Liam Cooper recovered well to block his way the goal. Ryan then fired a free-kick straight over the crossbar for the Spireites.
Just before the hour mark, Armand Gnanduillet replaced Porter for Chesterfield. Only moments after entering the fray, Gnanduillet headed just over bar after a Jay O'Shea free-kick.
On 67 minutes, Marc Richards replaced Roberts as the Spireites took a different approach in order to get back into this game. A break from the left by Doyle allowed him to charge forward towards the Burton area, but he failed to direct his shot away from Pickford who saved comfortably.
With ten minutes left on the clock, Weir's effort from outside the area struck the post for the Brewers. Gnanduillet then tested Pickford from range, but the Burton goalkeeper tipped the ball superbly over the crossbar and away for a corner.
Four minutes of added time was signalled. Humphreys then found Gnanduillet in the box but his volley went over the bar, much to the player's frustration. In the final moments, Chris Hussey attempted an audacious lob from the halfway line but it never worried Lee.
Burton gained the win they wanted, leaving Chesterfield with one point to show from their last four games. Spireites boss Paul Cook will expect a vast improvement this coming Tuesday, against York City at the Proact Stadium.
