Chesterfield HC lose to Durham but young goalkeeper gets England U18 call-up

Chesterfield went into the game without Jorge Montoya and Alex Sandoval, who are both currently on international duty with Mexico in the Pan-American Cup.

Man-of-the-match James Tanton and skipper Jon Moores both netted for the visitors, but it proved too little against a well-drilled Durham squad.

The week had started brightly for Chesterfield, with Hugh Phillips-Bland celebrating selection into the England U18 squad following a rigorous process of trials and training days.

Coach Christian Battye was quick to praise the young goalkeeper.

He said: “Hugh has been a huge asset to the squad since he joined the club over the summer. His attitude at training is fantastic and that’s been reflected in his performances during games.

"He pushes others around him to get better. We’ve got one of the best goalkeepers in the league, and now he’s been recognised as one of the best players for his age group in the country. It’s a great achievement and the rest of the boys are delighted for him”.

On Saturday’s result, Battye said: “This wasn’t a bad performance from us but it wasn’t quite at the level required to get something from the game. We needed to be in top gear to win today as they have a massive player pool to call upon, but we pushed them all the way which sets us up nicely for the next game”.