Chesterfield channel spirit of old and new Arsenal as they find a way to keep clean sheets

The Spireites followed up a 1-0 win at home to Cheltenham Town on Good Friday with another victory by the same scoreline on Easter Monday, this time at Barrow.

Here are some of the big talking points to come out of the weekend…

‘1-0 TO THE ARSENAL’

The goals against column has been a worry all season but that is now three clean sheets in a row which is the first time that has happened this campaign. It also means goalkeeper Ryan Boot is yet to concede since coming back into the side. A hat-trick of shutouts has seen them jump up the clean sheets table to seventh with 13 in total. The 52 goals conceded is still the highest out of the top 13 teams in the league but play-off rivals Crewe and Salford City have each let in 50 now so they hunting those two down.

What’s the improvement down to? I’m not sure if there is anything massively that stands out tactically but Boot has come in and brought a calmness and made big saves, Malik Owolabi-Belewu has been solid as a ‘stay at home’ left-back and Kyle McFadzean and Sil Swinkels have started six of the last seven games at centre-back so they are perhaps reaping the rewards of a growing partnership. Those old enough to remember George Graham’s Arsenal will be familiar with their defensive masterclasses, hence the ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ chant which was sung regularly from the terraces in the 1990s and is doing so again this season under Mikel Arteta. Well, until very recently anyway. Five more one-nillers will do!

CLINICAL EDGE

The lack of ruthlessness has meant that the last three games have still been in the balance when they should have been out of sight, particularly the last two. They could have had four or five against Cheltenham and even although it was a tight contest at Barrow for the majority, they could have added a couple more in the last 20 minutes. As the chances went begging against Cheltenham and the woodwork was struck four times, Paul Cook turned around to face the West Stand with an expression that was a mix between ‘if you don’t laugh you’ll cry’ and ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if this came back to bite us.’. It didn’t matter in the end but you would like to see them put teams to the sword in these final few matches.

CAN THEY BE FOUR-MIDABLE?

Chesterfield have won three successive league games three times this season but they have not managed a fourth. The last time they won four in a row came in December 2024 when they beat Tranmere Rovers and Carlisle United in the league and Wigan Athletic and AFC Wimbledon in the cups. The Blues and Bristol Rovers were the only two sides to collect six points over the Easter weekend which shows what an inconsistent league it is. And the Spireites are the only team in the top half to won three on the bounce. Perhaps they have found the right formula at just the right time. Next up are struggling Tranmere, now managed by Pete Wild, who came to the SMH earlier this season and grabbed a 1-1 draw with his then Fleetwood team. Tranmere have lost all of their last four and nine out of their last 10, plummeting them to just two places and three points above the drop zone.