Chesterfield mark League Two return with draw against Swindon Town - report
Chesterfield marked their return to the Football League with a 1-1 draw against Swindon Town.
In front of a crowd of more than 9,000, Armando Dobra scored the Spireites’ first League Two goal in six years on 15 minutes, on what was a special occasion.
The hosts should have had a stonewall penalty when Grant Hall wiped out Michael Jacobs but their lead remained a slim one at half-time and that came back to bite them when Robins defender Will Wright found the top corner from distance after the visitors had edged themselves back into it in the second-half.
In the end, it was probably a fair result, but the decision not to award that penalty had an impact on the result. But, overall, it was a positive start for Chesterfield and they were warmly applauded off at full-time.
Devan Tanton, who only signed on a season-long loan from Fulham on Monday, was thrown straight in and he was a man of the match contender, and he joined Chey Dunkley and Lewis Gordon in making his competitive debut for the club.
Meanwhile, former Spireites Jeff King and Miguel Freckleton, who helped Chesterfield win promotion from the National League last season, started for Swindon, who also have ex-Town man Gavin Gunning on the coaching staff. There was no place in the squad for another familiar name in Saidou Khan.
It was a cagey opening to the game with both sides playing long balls in behind with no success. Swindon, now led by former Wolves winger Mark Kennedy, finished in 19th - their lowest-ever - last season and are not particularly fancied to improve too much this time around but they were well-organised here but lacked firepower. They lined-up in a compact 3-5-2 with towering striker Harry Smith their biggest threat.
On 15 minutes the Spireites unlocked their defence when Ollie Banks found Will Grigg in the box. His snap-shot was saved by Jack Bycroft but Dobra nipped in and finished the rebound to score Chesterfield’s first goal back in League Two since 2018.
And they were denied a stonewall penalty soon after when Jacobs was completely cleaned out by former Rotherham United defender Hall but referee Scott Oldham was unmoved. On the touchline, Paul Cook was livid, and he went into the book.
The action went a bit flat after that, but it livened up again just before half-time, with Grigg forcing a superb save out of Bycroft.
Overall, it had been a good first 45 minutes from the Blues, who will have been happy to lead, but will also have been frustrated not to have been awarded that penalty.
Swindon slowly worked their way into the game in the second-half, with Smith always looking menacing from balls into the box, but Ryan Boot remained untested. On the hour-mark, King got a tremendous reception as he was withdrawn for his new side.
The Blues had lost the control that they had in the first 45, giving up possession more than normal, and the visitors equalised on 64 minutes when Wright advanced forward from deep and found the top corner with a stunning strike.
With the match potentially swinging in Swindon’s favour, Cook made a double change with James Berry and Liam Mandeville brought on for Jacobs and Ryan Colclough, who glanced a header just wide before his number came up.
The latter stages were tight, and there were six minutes added, and there was a late chance for Berry as Chesterfield pushed for a winner, but his shot was blocked and the points were shared.
Chesterfield: Boot; Tanton; Naylor, Dunkley, Gordon; Oldaker, Banks; Jacobs (Mandeville, 72), Dobra (Drummond, 85), Colclough (Berry, 72); Grigg (Quigley, 85).
Unused subs: Daley-Campbell, Williams, Akinola.