Chesterfield: Novak happy to claim FA Cup goal

Lee Novak was named the scorer of the Spireites’ last minute equaliser with Walsall at the weekend.

That was despite Sam Morsy’s attempts to claim it and Ian Evatt smashing the ball over the line to make sure of the goal.

“I’m taking it!” Novak declared.

“No, in all seriousness I was nowhere near it but if it went down as my goal then I’ll take it.

“I thought it was an own goal but a few of our boys are trying to claim it.

“Evo (Evatt) tried to claim it. Me and Sam Morsy ran away. Even the boys on the bench were trying to claim it.

“The most important thing is that was got the goal and we were unlucky not to win.

“Our performance showed we want to go forward and I think the fans got right behind us.

“We put on a performance they can be proud of. I was gutted we didn’t win the game.”

The Birmingham City loanee praised the impact of caretaker boss Mark Smith, who took the reins after the sacking of Dean Saunders last weekend.

Novak said: “He’s come in and been brilliant.

“He’s given us confidence and the training has been sharp.

“We showed by our performance on Saturday what a good week we’ve had with him.

“We were devastated about what happened with the last gaffer but that’s football.

“We haven’t been good enough at home but we now want to start putting results together.

“I think the performance against Walsall was a stepping stone for us to go on and put on more performances and more importantly start to get wins.”