Chesterfield have found blueprint for away games - The Last Word on Tranmere Rovers draw

That was much better. In terms of what you want to see from an away performance, that was almost perfect. Fair enough, the late concession was disappointing, but you kind of had a niggly feeling that it was going to happen after not being able to get a second goal when on top in the first-half. But the bigger picture for me is that the Spireites put in a strong defensive display and created more chances than what they have previously been doing. That is a good foundation for them to build on when on their travels.

That performance is how they should approach every away game from now on. Be hard to beat first of all and then play on the counter-attack. That should be the blueprint. It was refreshing to see a different game-plan and it was enjoyable to watch. The full-backs concentrated on their defensive work first rather than worrying about supporting attacks, central midfield looked more secure with the trio of Ryan Stirk, Liam Mandeville and Tom Naylor rotating between roles, and with the pace and trickery of James Berry and Dilan Markanday on the wings, they were more of a threat going forward as well.

Chesterfield have conceded more goals on transition than any other team in the league but on Saturday Tranmere did not have a sniff apart from set-pieces. If it wasn’t for a couple of smart saves from Joe Murphy in each half and for the non-awarding of a clear penalty, Town would have been out of sight. It does look like they got a bit fortunate with Tranmere’s ‘equaliser’ before half-time being ruled out, though. I still can’t work out what the reason was.

The service into Lee Bonis is still a work in progress but there were one or two examples when they found him in space and a couple of others where the quality was missing or the timing was off. But Will Grigg is back now so hopefully he can help take the pressure off his fellow striker.

Stevenage in the FA Cup this weekend, a very tough test. They are flying high in League One. But that is where Chesterfield want to be next season so it will be a measure of how close or far away they are. A repeat of Saturday’s performance, with a sprinkle of ruthlessness, and the Spireites could cause a shock.