Spireites salvage a point at home to Exeter.

Matt Grimes gave Exeter an early advantage in this contest, but his side failed to do enough to conserve that lead in the latter stages of the second period as Eoin Doyle netted from the penalty spot to seal a 1-1 draw between the two sides. Chesterfield were reduced to ten men only minutes prior to the equalising goal as a consequence of a late and forceful challenge on a member of the opposition from Sam Morsy.

Spireites boss Paul Cook made one change from the 2-1 win at Hartlepool, with Gary Roberts taking the place of Daniel Kearns.

In the opening moments, Dan Gardner’s corner-kick was met by the hosts’ captain Ian Evatt but the defender’s header sailed narrowly wide of the post. Only eighteen minutes had been played before the Grecians took the lead, as a free-kick from Matt Grimes deflected against the head of a member of the wall and past Tommy Lee in the Chesterfield goal.

Following Exeter's opener, the atmosphere in the stadium changed dramatically and the home side ultimately struggled to find a way through the visitors’ defence. Doyle’s headed pass fell nicely for Sam Hird to strike from just outside the area, but the ball flew straight into the stands.

On the stroke of half-time, Marc Richards twisted then turned to evade his marker before shaping to shoot although he failed to hit the target.

The home side opted to make two changes at the break in order to try and find a route back into this game, with Ritchie Humphreys and Armand Gnanduillet taking the places of both Nathan Smith and Gardner.

After the restart, Tendayi Darikwa’s driven cross was met by Richards who’s glancing header just went wide of Christy Pym’s post. A misplaced header from Liam Cooper fell kindly to the feet of John O’Flynn, but he fired straight at Lee who parried the ball behind.

Darikwa was involved yet again as he tried his luck from an awkward angle on the half-volley, but it turned out to be a routine save for Pym. On 74 minutes, Morsy was sent for an early bath as a consequence of a two-footed challenge which led to no hesitation whatsoever from the referee in awarding a red card.

A mere three minutes had passed before the home side were awarded a penalty as a result of a foul on Doyle. The Irishman stepped up and sent Pym the wrong way to put the Spireites back on level terms. The visitors’ Scott Bennett latched onto a loose ball inside the hosts’ area, but was to be denied by a magnificent diving save to the left-hand side by Lee.

It was then announced that there would be five minutes of additional time, which gave the Chesterfield support good reason to will their team on in search of a second and ultimately, winning goal.

Desperate to get the ball towards the opposition penalty area, Darikwa drove forward before firing a cross from deep into the path of Roberts who could only manage to direct the ball into the side netting. This was virtually the last kick of the game, as the Spireites put another point on the board and moved into second place as results elsewhere went in their favour.