'Putting on a show' - when high-flying Chesterfield score - and concede - most of their goals

The Spireites have scored the most goals out of anyone in the top five divisions, have lost just twice in 25 in all competitions, and have an eight-point lead and two games in hand. They are playing some of the best attacking football the fifth tier has ever seen and they are doing it in front of bumper crowds who are loving every minute. The soundtrack to the season – ‘putting on a show’ – seems very apt. They are The Entertainers.

Manager Paul Cook, who has done a terrific job in rebuilding the club, has got his sights set on a fourth league title of his managerial career. He and his talented staff have implemented a clear style of play which has ripped up the National League and seen them brush aside League One leaders Portsmouth, and Leyton Orient, in the FA Cup.

Town have more than one string to their bow this season – they have scored all types of goals – from playing through the lines, blistering counter-attacks and being the set-piece kings. They can play teams off the park with their slick passing and they can battle too. They’ve come from behind to win, and they’ve dominated a lot of matches from start to finish.

A look at their goals stats show they don’t tend to find the net early – it takes them a bit of time to get into their groove – but they find their rhythm before and after half-time, take the game away from teams in the last 15 minutes, and then add a bit more pain at the death if they need to.

They have only scored three times in the opening 10 minutes and five in the first 20. From the half-hour mark to half-time is when they step it up, bagging on 11 occasions. In total, 21 of their 66 goals have come in the first-half of matches. With Cook’s team-talk ringing in their ears, the period immediately after the break and before the hour-mark is when they score the most – 15. They then go for the throat between 61 and 75 minutes – scoring 10 goals – before going for the kill – notching 12 times from 76 to 89. And then they also have the fitness and firepower to either make a scoreline even more emphatic or grab a late winner – racking up eight goals after the 90th minute. On that evidence, it is fair to say they are a second-half team.

In terms of goals conceded, that was a concern at the start of the season despite still winning. They didn’t keep a clean sheet until fixture number nine. But shutouts are more regular now, including four in a row in October. The biggest takeaway is that Chesterfield are most vulnerable after the 90th minute but, as we have all seen, that can mainly be put down to the fact that games have often already been won by that point and they’ve taken their foot off the gas.

Here’s a full breakdown of goals scored and conceded this season:

GOALS SCORED

0-10 = 3

11-20 = 2

21-30 = 5

31-45 = 11

46-60 = 15

61-75 = 10

76-89 = 12

90+ = 8

GOALS CONCEDED

0-10 = 2

11-20 = 2

21-30 = 5

31-45 = 2

46-60 = 3

61-75 = 5

76-89 = 4

90+ = 6