Chesterfield's FA Cup wins make strong case for more promotion places from National League

Goals in each half from Armando Dobra and Jeff King sealed the victory at Plough Lane on Saturday.

Here are some of the big talking points from the game...

COMFORTABLE

This win was much more comfortable than many of us had anticipated before kick-off. I fancied Chesterfield to get the job done but I did not think they would breeze to victory. Wimbledon may have been a league above and 10 unbeaten but the Spireites were a class above. At no point in this game were Paul Cook’s men pinned back and under any serious pressure. The Dons had their moments where they threatened to put Town on the back-foot, but it never materialised and the Blues soon wrestled back control. Chesterfield deserved the win and Wimbledon boss Johnnie Jackson was honest enough to admit that.

SIX OF THE BEST

The Spireites have now won six on the bounce and are nine unbeaten. They also continue their run of scoring in every game (22) in all competitions this season. They have now got a full week to prepare for Halifax, and then another full week before hosting Dorking Wanderers, so they should be fresh for both of those fixtures. Then it’s the midweek Christmas cracker at Wrexham on December 13.

THREE UP THREE DOWN

In the last 12 months Chesterfield have beaten three League Two clubs (Salford City, Northampton Town and AFC Wimbledon) in the FA Cup, proving that the gap between the National League and the division above is minimal. None of them were struggling sides either, with Salford having play-off ambitions, while the Cobblers were third, and the 10 unbeaten Dons were playing in League One last season.

After the full-time whistle the Wimbledon fans behind me in the press box were saying ‘Chesterfield will definitely get promoted this season’ and you could understand why. But with only one automatic place and then the lottery of the play-offs, the odds are still against them, and that is sad.

The calls for an extra promotion place are growing louder, but it would require League Two clubs to give it the green light, but turkeys don’t vote for Christmas. I would like to think that clubs like Barrow, Harrogate Town, Sutton United and Grimsby Town etc, who know exactly how hard it is to get out of the National League, have a bit of sympathy to perhaps help any future vote get over the line, but you never know.

AWESOME ASH

As debuts go, Ash Palmer’s can be very pleased. Only announced as a Chesterfield player late on Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours later he was thrown into the action after Tyrone Williams was forced off with blurred vision in the first-half. Palmer settled in seamlessly, as if he had played hundreds of times alongside Jamie Grimes at centre-half. Williams was visibly frustrated at not being able to go back on and it might be hard for Cook not to start Palmer at The Shay on Saturday.

TEAM

(4-1-4-1) Fitzsimons; King, Williams (Palmer 35), Grimes, Clements; Jones; Mandeville, Oldaker, Whelan (Akinola 78), Dobra (Uchegbulam 78); Quigley (Tshimanga 85). Unused subs: Chadwick, Maguire, Horton, Sheckleford, Asante.