No slacking as Chesterfield head to Fleetwood after big victory
Chesterfield will be asked not to repeat old habits when they continue their League Two play-off chase at Fleetwood on Saturday.
The Spireites turned in one of their best displays of the season to beat top-end rivals Grimsby Town 2-1 at a bouncing SMH Group Stadium on Tuesday night.
That followed a below-par showing in a 1-1 draw against struggling Tranmere Rovers last weekend, which is not the first time this season that points have slipped away against teams lower down the table.
The midweek win, capped a stoppage-time penalty save from Ryan Boot, showcased the best of what Chesterfield are about and now they need to start repeating it more often against the lesser lights.
"Pin-pointing the reason why we are so up and down, it must be a mindset thing,” said first team coach Kieron Dyer.
"We have only lost two in 13 games against teams in the top seven and it shows that the bigger the game the more we thrive.
"It has been the Achilles heel when we play the so-called lesser teams, so it is important that when we go to Fleetwood we have the same mindset.
"We’ve got to be at it with intensity, penetration and real desire and if we replicate that then I think there will be no problem at all.”
Chesterfield twice struck the woodwork against the Mariners but bagged three big points against their nearest chasers thanks to two first-half strikes from Liam Mandeville and Lee Bonis and Boot’s heroic penalty save – his second in as many games.
"We played so well, in complete control,” said Dyer. "Fair play to Grimsby. They really gave us a run for our money but we were the better team.
"We thought we were on to something with the three straight wins before we played Tranmere last week. We didn’t play very well but it could be a good point in the end because we didn’t really deserve anything.
"The Grimsby performance was the benchmark. It was probably our best as well as the best atmosphere. What a game.”
Chesterfield will travel to mid-table Fleetwood four points clear of eighth-placed Grimsby with three games to go.
Added Dyer: "When they got the penalty in the last seconds you’re thinking it is out of your hands now and we’d be relying on other results. but what an ending. It’s in our destiny now.”