REPORT: Chesterfield 0-0 AFC Fylde

The high flying visitors were well shackled by the Spireites in a game that lacked quality and goalscoring opportunities but showcased solid defending and plenty of effort.

Joe Rowley impressed for Town in the middle of the park and the back four kept prolific striker Danny Rowe quiet for almost the duration.

Up front, Tom Denton and Lee Shaw worked hard without ever threatening to put the ball in the back of Fylde's net.

Referee Joe Hull was the cause of most of the afternoon's excitement, ignoring a number of Chesterfield penalty appeals and changing his mind after showing Curtis Weston a late red card.

Chesterfield made a bright enough start, putting together a couple of nice moves that had no end product.

It took Fylde eight minutes to muster an attack and it was dangerman Danny Rowe in the thick of it, whipping an inviting ball to the back post only for it to bounce wide, with no visitors gambling.

The Spireites made it difficult for Fylde to get anything going in terms of attacking play, snuffing out threats and being simple but effective with direct play when they had the ball themselves.

Although most of the play took place in the Fylde half, in the opening half an hour, Town were unable to trouble Jay Lynch in the away goal.

Marc-Antoine Fortune had a shot deflected wide and Will Evans' free-kick effort was fierce but wild and wayward.

The close attention paid to Tom Denton at set-pieces was beginning to provoke the ire of the home side and supporters. Twice in quick succession the targetman appeared to be held by defenders inside the area, but referee Joe Hull was unmoved.

The latter stages of the half saw the Spireites dominant and they should have taken the lead when Jerome Binnom-Williams sent a free-kick of real quality to the back post and Curtis Weston headed back across goal and just wide.

Weston then turned provider, hooking a ball onto the head of Denton, whose header was easily held by Lynch, making the first save of the game.

Fylde themselves finally created a scoring chance on 45 minutes, Rowe's clipped ball to the back post met by the unmarked Joe Cardle three yards out and somehow the winger sent it soaring over the bar.

The second half saw Fylde slowly come back into the fixture, but poor quality in the final third stopped them from really getting a grip on things.

Town were unable to carry on their momentum from the first half and although they defended solidly, when they did get a chance to break they too often spurned them.

Rowe finally got hold of the ball in space around the edge of the box with 20 minutes remaining and although his dinked effort beat Burton, it also cleared the crossbar.

Neither side went gung-ho in search of the three points and therefore clear cut chances were simply not created.

Fylde thought they were in luck when, with five minutes remaining, Curtis Weston remarkably shown a red card for stopping a Fylde attack with his hand outside the area, only for an offside flag to go up and keep him on the pitch.

The game took on a frenetic feel in the final few minutes, Chesterfield looking to create havoc with Muggleton's long throw but never really coming close to a winner.

Chesterfield: Burton, Smith, Muggleton, Maguire, Evans, Fortune (Amantchi 65), Binnom-Williams (Reid 81), Weston, Rowley, Shaw, Denton. Subs: Kayode, Hollis, Ofoegbu.

AFC Fylde: Lynch, Birch (Williams 80), Francis-Angol, Byrne, Tunnicliffe, Brewitt, Croasdale, Philliskirk, Kellerman, Cardle (Hemmings 72), Rowe. Subs: Bond, Hemmings, Kane, Tasdermir.

Referee: Mr Joe Hull. Assistants: Mr Andrew Dallison, Mr Conor Brown.

Attendance: 4,021 (115 away)