Youngster impresses, overloads and Big Dunks - five talking points from Chesterfield's first pre-season friendly

The pre-season friendly ended 0-0, with the Gladiators winning 5-3 on penalties.

Here are some of the things we noticed from the game:

JESSOP SHINES

The Gibraltar international, 18, signed for the Spireites a year ago after scoring twice against the academy last pre-season. The former Fleetwood Town youngster grabbed a brace on his senior debut in a 6-1 FA Trophy win against Southport last December and also played in the next round at Welling United. Previously, he has played as a winger or forward, but he was deployed as an attacking right-back at the Proctor Cars Stadium after coming on at half-time. He was Chesterfield’s best player in the second-half, providing a number of dangerous crosses. Currently, Ryheem Sheckleford is the only natural right-back on the books, although Liam Mandeville also played their last season, but Jessop certainly put his name in the hat to be given another chance. He wasn’t tested defensively so it will be interesting to see how he copes against better opposition.

DOBS

Jessop was the standout player in the second 45, but Dobra had the bit between his teeth in the first-half. Looking at his social media, it appears the 23-year-old has been putting in the work over the summer and it showed. He played like it was a league fixture, with an all-action display of direct dribbles, shots, work-rate and tenacity. One instinctive flick through the legs of a Matlock defender which helped create a chance got everyone purring. After loan spell in the EFL with Colchester United three years ago, he will be determined to show he can do it at this level.

OVERLOADS

Only a minor observation but James Berry started on the right wing but then came over to his more favoured left midway through the first-half. What was interesting was that Dobra didn’t move over to the right and those two, along with Paddy Madden, linked-up well at times and created a nice overload. And in the second-half we saw Jessop play almost like a second right winger, with the defence rolling into a back three, which is something we saw last season.

BIG DUNKS

There was a good crowd in attendance but you could hear the booming voice of new signing Chey Dunkley loud and clear. He never stopped talking. He arrived with a reputation as a leader and a big personality and you could see that in the 45 minutes that he played. He also chucked himself at a corner as he tried to open the scoring. You’d expect him to net a few from set-pieces this season.

PADDY

Talking of set-pieces, Madden showed what a useful asset he could be in defending them. Matlock put the ball in the box from free-kicks and corners and the striker, despite not being the tallest, attacked them with such determination and authority. It’s not something you would associate with him but he was like a magnet to the ball.