SPIREITES' GOLDEN GOALS - Geoff Salmons hits late Chesterfield equaliser in six-goal thriller at Sheffield Wednesday

It is something that football fans of all clubs argue about. What is the best, most memorable or favourite goal scored by your heroes?
Geoff Salmons in action for Sheffield United against Manchester CityGeoff Salmons in action for Sheffield United against Manchester City
Geoff Salmons in action for Sheffield United against Manchester City

Each week we are taking a look at some of the best to hit the net for Chesterfield over the past decades. If you have a goal you would like us to feature, email [email protected] with brief details and your memories of the strike and we will try to include in a future article.

Among those suggested for future weeks are a Paul Holland cracker against Blackpool in the 90s and a Derek Niven strike in the League Cup against Manchester City.

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The latest golden goal in our series looks back at a vital goal by Geoff Salmons in a thrilling derby clash at Sheffield Wednesday in 1980 as the two clubs strived for promotion.

Little remains of the day midfielder Salmons scored the goal that lingers long in the memories of some Chesterfield fans — in particular Rob Cowlishaw, who requested this delve into the archives on Twitter.

Rob said: “One of my most enduring memories is the 3-3 draw at Hillsborough and Geoff Salmons’ equaliser in the last few minutes. What a goal and what a game!” Salmons’ dramatic injury-time strike capped an action-packed game — and almost proved vital in the race for promotion.

He struck as the Spireites were undeservedly trailing 3-2 at Hillsborough to local rivals Sheffield Wednesday in front of 23,637 supporters.

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It had been a controversial match on 16th February. Wednesday’s mercurial winger Terry Curran had already angered the Chesterfield fans for an incident with John Ridley — and for then winning a penalty with what most Spireites at Hillsborough called a dive.

VIDEO: SPIREITES’ GOLDEN GOALS - Craig Westcarr scores at WembleyVIDEO: SPIREITES’ GOLDEN GOALS - Jamie Hewitt clinches thrilling FA Cup semi-final drawVIDEO: SPIREITES’ GOLDEN GOALS - Derek Niven scores last Chesterfield goal at SaltergateBut up stepped a new hero for Chesterfield as keeper Mark Kendall — in the last of his nine loan matches from Spurs — kept out the spot-kick. His save ruined the perfect penalty record of Wednesday’s Mark Smith, who had previously scored 10 out of 10 from the spot.

Sadly Kendall, always remembered fondly for those nine games, his desire to have stayed longer at Saltergate and his praise for manager Arthur Cox when he returned to White Hart Lane. died in 2008.

His penalty save paved the way for Salmons to score deep into stoppage time with a trademark left-foot drive — a goal that meant the match would be forever remembered as ‘Geoff Salmons’ Match’.

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At the time it kept alive Chesterfield’s push for promotion from the Third Division, but in the end they fell one point short after a series of away defeats in the run-in. Ironically, they were pipped for the last promotion place by Wednesday in the last season of two points for a win.

VIDEO: Geoff Salmons scores for Chesterfield in 3-0 win over RotherhamSalmons made 153 appearances and scored 19 goals for Chesterfield between 1978 and 1981, having previously made his name at Sheffield United, Stoke City — where he came close to winning the Division One title — and Leicester City.

A year after his thrilling equaliser at Wednesday, he was part of the Spireites team that won the Anglo Scottish Cup.

There is no video footage of the 3-3 draw at Hillsbrough, but the TV cameras were on hand to catch another dramatic strike by Salmons that season as he hit the last goal in a 3-0 victory over Rotherham.

Click here to watch the goals from the game as Ernie Moss and Phil Walker also netted.