Sponsored by
Slip up costs Spireites a share of points
Notts County 1 Chesterfield 0
Spireites' five match travelling winning run came to an end after Ben Davies' quality 20th minute strike punished some poor defending and saw County leapfrog John Sheridan's men.
The midfielder kept his head when others lost theirs to shoot home after a poor Alan Goodall back-pass, an equally disappointing hack-away from Tommy Lee and a miscue from Rob Page. County skipper John Thompson hit the post in the second half in a game of few chances, plenty of effort and an incredible amount of whistling.
Dorset official Keith Stroud, a relegated Premier Leaguer, strutted around in his salmon pink shirt and booked five Magpies, two Spireites.
He also despatched Sheridan to the stands.
The Chesterfield boss had complained when Stroud awarded a throw to Notts after Drew Talbot stole a yard or two for the original throw; the second such switch of the game. Sheridan said: "Why didn't the referee just let the game go? It was a committed game, two committed sides. The referee was an absolute joke, he frustrated me tonight, even the Notts County fans booed him off and they won. I don't want to say too much, they think they're bigger than the players. The colour of his kit summed him up."
County played bullying tactics. The official statistics noted 27 fouls committed by them with striker Lee Hughes the main culprit. Ironically his booking was the only one not for a foul, he plummeted to the ground as if shot in the head after the ball hit him on his ear in a bizarre attempt to waste time deep into the game's extra moments.
Hughes only managed one shot, blocked by Rob Page, his partner Luke Rodgers had the best chances of all the forwards on display. Spireites front men hardly had a chance, sub Scott Boden saw an effort blocked whilst winger Simon Whaley almost got on to a Wade Small cross.
Tommy Lee had to make a great late save to deny Davies whilst Kaspar Schmeichel only had to stop a Small shot. Sheridan said: "There wasn't a lot to choose between the sides. The goal was disappointing, we should have dealt with it better. I can't fault the players, they tried to get us back into the game, full credit to them, it's a shame we didn't get anything from it."
What do you think? Add your comment below.
JOIN THE STAR READER PANEL: The Star is YOUR newspaper, so tell us what you think about it and what you want to see - CLICK HERE.
Don't miss our daily pull-outs - only in the The Star: Monday Star Sport, Tuesday Class Act; Wednesday Business; Thursday Grassroots; Friday Time Out; Saturday Retro. Subscribe to The Star - CLICK HERE
READ MORE
Subscribe to The Star or Green 'Un
Visit our Matchday Centre for free live coverage of every match
Football headlines. Football gossip. Blades news Owls news Reds news. Millers news. More rugby. More boxing. Sports columnists.
All sport categories
Free E-Mag: Premier League 2009-10 Preview
Watch Premiership highlights, international football, golf, tennis, darts and much more - click here
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
