Proact Stadium

Chesterfield 0-3 Scunthorpe United – League 1

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Paddy McFadden scored twice as Scunthorpe United defeated ten-man Chesterfield 3-0 at the Proact Stadium.

The division’s top scorer opened the scoring from the spot just shy of the hour mark after Dan Jones had fouled ex-Spireite Gary McSheffrey.

The defender was shown a straight-red card for the tackle and this proved to be the turning point in what had previously been a very even contest.

McSheffrey doubled the lead against his former club with a superb first time strike before Madden put the icing on the Iron’s cake, making it 3-0 twelve minutes from time.

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Chesterfield 3-0 Southend United – League 1

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Sylvan Ebanks-Blake struck twice as Chesterfield beat Southend United 3-0 to record their first home victory since the opening day.

The Spireites were on top from start to finish and it took just eight minutes for a confident Lee Novak finish to put them ahead. Ebanks-Blake then showed his strikers instinct to pounce on the ball and make it 2-0 before the break.

Joe Pigott had a couple of opportunities early in the second period to give the Shrimpers hope, but failed to convert, and it was all over when the ex-Premier League forward smashed home his fifth of the campaign from close range shortly after the hour.

A third win in four outings for Dean Saunders’ men moves them up to ninth, remarkably now a point better off than they were at the same stage last season when they reached the play-offs!

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Chesterfield 1-3 Gillingham – League 1

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Rai Simons’ first ever league goal wasn’t enough to stop Chesterfield slipping to a sixth defeat in eight games on Saturday against Gillingham.

The Bermudan’s composed strike had put the hosts level nine minutes after John Egan capitalised on a Tommy Lee error to open the scoring.

But Rory Donnelly’s fifth goal in three league outings regained the visitors’ lead, before Harry Lennon sealed their first away victory since August with a close range header 15 minutes from time.

Another disappointing afternoon for Chesterfield saw them fall to 16th in the table and remain without a home win since the opening day, despite manager Dean Saunders believing that it was one of his sides’ best performances of the season.

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Chesterfield 3-3 Colchester United – League 1

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Chesterfield threw away a two-goal home lead for the second consecutive week as they drew 3-3 with Colchester United in a thriller at the Proact Stadium.

The Spireites were forced to play 75 minutes with ten men when Drew Talbot was shown a straight red after bringing down debutant Marvin Sordell, who the referee adjudged to be the last man.

Despite this, the home side charged into a 3-1 lead courtesy of goals from Dan Jones, Lee Nocak and Sam Morsy and looked to be sailing to a fourth league victory of the season.

But just as they had done last week, Chesterfield let the advantage slip.

George Moncur gave Colchester hope with a 76th minute strike and the three points were once again lost in heartbreaking fashion when Charlie Raglan bundled the ball into his own net in the third minute of stoppage time.

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Chesterfield 2-3 Wigan Athletic – League 1

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Three goals in the final nine minutes saw Wigan Athletic turn around a two-goal deficit to earn all three points on a crazy and dramatic afternoon in Chesterfield.

A thunderbolt from Dan Gardner broke the deadlock after a relatively uneventful first half. Leon Barnett’s bizarre headed own goal then doubled the Spireites’ advantage in the 68th minute.

But just as the home side appeared to be cruising to a fourth victory of the season, Barnett made up for his earlier error with an excellent 81st minute strike to give the Latics hope,

Former Chesterfield hero Craig Davies then restored parity from the spot, before Jordy Hiwula poked home in the 90th minute – completing a memorable comeback and sending the Spireites fans home stunned.

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Chesterfield 3-1 Barnsley – League 1

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The Dean Saunders era got off to the perfect start as Chesterfield turned around an early deficit to defeat local rivals Barnsley 3-1 at the Proact Stadium.

A nightmare start to the new campaign saw the Spireites fall behind to a Conor Wilkinson goal after just four minutes, but second half strikes from Jay O’Shea, debutant Sylvan Ebanks-Blake and captain Sam Morsy gave the home side victory as they turned the contest around in style and got the 2015/16 campaign underway with a victory.

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Chesterfield 1-3 Hull City – Pre Season Friendly

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Dean Saunders’ first home game as Chesterfield manager ended in defeat against a strong Hull City side on Tuesday 21st July 2015.

Despite the loss, there were plenty of positives for the Spireites to take as they started brightest and took the lead inside 20 minutes through an Ian Evatt header.

But the away side, who were only relegated from the top flight last season, grew as the evening wore on and goals from Harry Maguire, Andrew Robertson and Calaum Jahraldo-Martin earned Hull a 3-1 victory.

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Dean Saunders – New Chesterfield FC manager unveiled

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Dean Saunders was unveiled as the new manager of Chesterfield on Wednesday 13th May at a press conference attended by chairman Dave Allen and chief executive Chris Turner.

The appointment follows the departure of Paul Cook, who was released from his contract to join League 2 club Portsmouth following the Spireites’ play-off defeat to Preston last weekend.

Saunders had an illustrious playing career that saw him play for the likes of Liverpool, Aston Villa, Galatasaray and Nottingham Forest – as well as earning 75 caps for Wales. Since 2008, he has taken charge of Wrexham, Doncaster Rovers, Wolves and Crawley Town before joining the Spireites today.

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Chesterfield 0-1 Preston North End – League 1 Play Off Semi-Final (1st Leg)

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Preston North End earned a slim lead over Chesterfield in the first leg of the League 1 play off semi-final on Thursday 7th April 2015.

Jermaine Beckford scored the only goal of the game after just six minutes after Chris Humphrey’s pass cut through a nervy Spireites’ defence.

The hosts responded strongly – Gary Roberts and Ollie Banks both coming agonisingly close to scoring in the second half, but a solid Preston defensive unit held on and head back to Deepdale on Sunday with a 1-0 lead in the tie.

On a personal note, this was my first time reporting from the press box at the Proact Stadium – a very exciting experience and one I look forward to continuing next season!

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