Chesterfield back to their best in mad win against Bromley to keep in touch with Notts County and Wrexham

The Spireites’ goals came from King, Ollie Banks and Kabongo Tshimanga, while Adam Marriott hit a brace for the visitors.

But that does not tell the full story of what was a fiery encounter which included two red cards.

Let’s take a look at some of the key talking points...

THEY NEEDED IT

After three successive defeats in the league, Chesterfield really needed this win to stay in touch at the top. Notts County’s victory against Maidstone United on Friday night put them nine points clear so it was important that the Spireites clawed three back on Saturday afternoon. With Boreham Wood and Wrexham playing out a 1-1 draw, it made it an even better result. There is still a long way to go but assistant manager Danny Webb admitted he would have been ‘lying’ if he said they weren’t keeping an eye on how those around them are doing.

MORE LIKE IT

After going 10 unbeaten, to then losing three on the bounce, was a bit puzzling. But Town got back to playing the football that had got us all so excited at the start of the campaign. They started on the front-foot with a high tempo, winning the ball back higher up the pitch and quicker. The attacking play was free-flowing, creative, and they looked full of ideas again. Yes, the display was not perfect, they still conceded twice and lived life on the edge towards the end – a top stop from Ross Fitzsimons saving them at the death. Paul Cook is big on performance, results will follow, he says, and he could be happy with this one.

DOBS AND KABS

This was the first time that Armando Dobra and Tshimanga have started a game together this season. They both hugely contributed to this win and the thought of them playing together from the start more often is mouth-watering. Dobra has two goals and three assists, while Tshimanga has five goals, so the creativity and goal-threat is there for all to see. Having those two on the pitch in the coming weeks and months could be the difference come the end of the season.

FORMATION TWEAK

After the run of defeats I wondered if Cook might try something different. It was only a slight tweak but changing from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3 with Mike Jones, who was excellent, being the extra man in midfield and allowing Banks and Darren Oldaker to play higher up really helped the Blues force Bromley back and pin them in their own half at times.

SIGN HIM UP!

King scored the first, created the second and won the penalty for the third. I make that four goals and four assists for the full-back which is very impressive. He is out of contract next summer, and we would be naive to think that his numbers are not catching the attention of clubs further up the football pyramid. A new contract might not stop him from leaving, but at least it would ensure a healthy fee is received.

MELEE

We shouldn’t be surprised that the visit of Bromley brought drama. It always seems to boil over when the two teams meet. I don’t if it is a tactic of theirs, but they do have a habit of knowing how to cause chaos in a game. The latest episode saw Bromley boss Andy Woodman sent off during the second-half and defender Omar Sowunmi shown a red card after the full-time whistle. The unsavoury scenes continued after the game had finished with both sets of players and staff involved, including Chesterfield’s kit man who dropped to the floor at one point. The funny thing was, it looked like most of the players were trying to split it up, but that only sparked more madness. It might not be the last we hear of this.

TEAM

4-3-3: Fitzsimons; King, Williams, Grimes, Horton; Jones, Oldaker (Whelan, 83), Banks; Mandeville (Cook, 90), Dobra (Cooper, 70) Tshimanga. Unused subs: Uchegbulam, Asante.