TV pundits praise 'brilliant' Chesterfield but claim first goal against Solihull Moors should not have counted

Town were awarded a free-kick when Armando Dobra went down under a challenge from Jamey Osborne before Joe Quigley glanced in Jeff King’s delivery.

But BT Sport pundits Aaron McClean and popular former Spireite Sam Clucas both felt it should not have counted.

Explaining why, McLean said: "I think Dobra has just bought it (the foul). Osborne goes to challenge him, yes he has got his arm out, but there is nowhere near enough contact for Dobra to go down the way he does. He buys the free-kick and the referee falls for it."

The pair also agreed that Quigley was narrowly offside.

Clucas said: "For me it is offside. But it is a great delivery, an unbelievable ball.”

Town doubled their lead in the second-half when left-back Bailey Clements volleyed in from close-range after excellent work by Tim Akinola.

Clucas recalled the way that Paul Cook used to encourage his full-backs to get forward when he was at the club.

He said: “It was poor defending on Solihull’s part, but what is the left-back doing up there? He is high up the pitch, that is a key figure in the way Paul Cook used to play. He wanted the full-backs to be high and try and get in the box. If one full-back is crossing it in then the other would be in the box.”

On the second goal, McLean added: "It is good strength (by Akinola). (Joey) Jones gets too tight and Akinola realises he can roll him. Dobra is unlucky, (James) Clarke gets a block on it but Clements gambled and the gamble paid off because he takes a really touch and finish from the defender.”

Overall, both pundits were in no doubt that the Blues deserved the three points.

"I thought Chesterfield were brilliant today,” McLean said. “In the first 15 minutes they were a little bit slow but once they got that goal they took total control of the game and definitely deserved the win.

"They had to earn the right in the first 15 minutes to get in the game because I thought Solihull started really well.

"They are outrunning teams, outworking teams and they have got plenty of players who know how to put the ball in the back of the net.”

Clucas added: "I thought they started really slow but after they scored the goal it was a dominant performance by Chesterfield which Paul Cook will be happy with. They could have scored more on the day, been a bit more clinical in the final third, but they were attacking and kept the ball well.

"I thought they (Solihull) started the better team, looking at the first 15 minutes you would probably say that Chesterfield looked a bit leggy and that it was them who had had a tough midweek game but after the goal Chesterfield took over and dominated really. Solihull did not do enough to get back into the game.

"I thought the game was brilliant, a great spectacle, it is a good result for Chesterfield and I thought they thoroughly deserved it.”