Chesterfield 'fabulous' but officials not 'fair', claims Wealdstone coach

The Stones gave a good account of themselves but they threw away a 1-0 lead, eventually losing 3-2.

The visitors were criticial of the performance of referee James Westgate and his assistants, claiming they weren’t ‘fair.’

Assistant manager Matt Saunders said: “Chesterfield are a fabulous team and there is a reason why they are probably going to go on and win the league so you have to give them credit.

"The lads have given everything and we couldn’t have asked for any more from them but it would just have been nice to have been part of a game where you get given a fair chance but we all know what the officiating is like in this league so it is very difficult.

"Did we deserve to win? No, we didn’t. Chesterfield were the better team. I will always call it as I see it. I am not deluded in my assessment of the game. But it would be nice to be given a fair crack to come to places like this. It is hard enough playing against them on a level playing field but when then the officials are that poor on the day it is very difficult. I feel sorry for the lads because they deserve to be part of a game which is fair.

"I congratulate Chesterfield, Cooky and his staff and the players deserve the win, but on another day I think we could have made it more competitive.”

The Stones led at half-time but second-half goals from James Berry, Liam Mandeville and Michael Jacobs turned the scoreline around.

Saunders continued: "We went for it today, we were smart in the way we approached the game.

"You need a lot to go right for you when you come to places like this, you are going to have periods without possession. We have tried to be a bit more rigid today and we were up until that point (conceding the first goal). I don’t really feel up until then that they threatened our goal massively other than the set-piece when Jed (Ward) has pulled off an unbelievable save. We were very, very comfortable.

"When you make errors as a young team, things can spiral quite quickly. That’s just the consequence of having a very young team.”

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