The late show, top four and the 'machine' - six big talking points from Chesterfield's defeat to Stockport County

The late show

The Spireites have conceded a lot of late goals last season - although under John Pemberton it was just the once against Harrogate Town. Unfortunately, that old habit has reared its ugly head again twice in the last two games against Torquay United and now Stockport County. Is it concentration? Fitness? Nerves? Pemberton said Stockport’s winner was more down to ‘luck’. My opinion is that Town don’t keep possession for very long and spend big periods of games trying to win it back. If they can improve on the ball, then their concentration and sharpness should be better in the latter stages of matches. But whatever it is, they need to sort it out quickly otherwise it will be another season of struggle.

The top four

You can’t read too much into the league table at this early stage, but Chesterfield’s first four matches have come against the teams occupying the top four places - Stockport County, Torquay United, Hartlepool United and Woking. Does that mean anything? Time will tell. But what I will say is the Spireites have been in a position to collect points from all their games so far, which could not be said for large parts of last season.

On the right

Town need to find a way of giving Jordan Cropper more protection because a lot of teams are targeting his side. Hartlepool’s two goals came down Chesterfield’s right, as did Torquay’s first and Stockport’s opener. I think part of the problem is that Cropper’s starting position is very high up the field because he is a good outball and has decent delivery from crosses. Perhaps Cropper needs to start deeper, or either Jonathan Smith or Curis Weston need to get across quicker to help him out. On the plus side, Cropper scored his first goal of the season against the Hatters with a low, drilled shot from the edge of the box.

‘Machine’

Jamie Sharman and Luke Rawson seem to be settling into life in the first-team quite nicely. Pemberton said they were both ‘excellent’ on Saturday, In particular, Pemberton praised Sharman for being a ‘machine’ and said nothing ‘fazes’ him. Rawson will be disappointed with the chance he had in the second half, but overall he didn’t let himself down on his first start.

Tys is back

Nathan Tyson’s return from injury will be a big boost after coming on after 60 minutes on Saturday. He will be disappointed with his part in Stockport’s winner and he apologised afterwards. With Scott Boden also returning from suspension, Pemberton has five strikers to choose from now.

‘Cringey’ decisions

Stockport boss Jim Gannon said the officials will ‘probably cringe’ when they watch the highlights back and he has a point. Pemberton said Chesterfield are not getting much luck at the moment, but they certainly got a big slice of it when referee Andrew Miller missed a blatant handball by Will Evans in the box which would have given the visitors the chance to double their lead from the spot. There were a number of other flashpoints as well which left both managers frustrated.