Chesterfield's flair players need to come to the party - The Last Word on draw against MK Dons
Our Spireites reporter Liam Norcliffe reflects on Chesterfield’s 1-1 home draw against MK Dons on Saturday.
It is a game which will probably not live too long in the memory. I thought it was a competitive clash between both boxes but neither side showed enough quality in the final third. It was a ‘nearly’ sort of match.
Town do seem to be getting punished for every little mistake or bit of bad luck at the moment and that can happen during a long season. Hopefully the Blues are getting theirs out of the way nice and early. When Daniel Kanu burst through for Walsall after a ricochet off his shins, Chey Dunkley could have closed him down quicker, but he also probably thought the striker had a lot of work to do to score, but he did. And on Saturday the football gods were not shining down as Armando Dobra slipped when in possession and that allowed the visitors to pounce and take the lead through Rushian Hepburn-Murphy.
First team coach Gary Roberts says they are second in the table for fewest shots faced, so you would like to think that will pay off over the course of the next eight months if they can keep that up.
What was more evident on Saturday was that it is clear that not all of Chesterfield’s flair players are in full flow right now. Dilan Markanday has not scored or assisted since the opening day of the season. Ronan Darcy has not been as effective as his first few outings. Lee Bonis has one goal in six starts. But they do have Dylan Duffy, who has five goal contributions, to return soon. Armando Dobra has bagged a respectable three times. And maybe it is time to hand Liam Mandeville, who has three assists off the bench, his first league start?
Other positives from Saturday? I thought John Fleck helped Chesterfield move the ball quicker and smoother at times. With Ryan Stirk absent, you wondered about the lack of legs in midfield, but there was no need to be concerned in the end.
Bromley away next. No win there since 2021 and that was with no fans in the ground. The pesky Michael Cheek has scored 11 goals in 15 appearances against Chesterfield. They are the type of team that the Spireites struggle against. They are in the Gillingham and Walsall category. The Blues got a point there last season and I would take that again.