Tom saves Chesterfield's Bacon with late winner

Chesterfield trailed 2-1, 3-2 and 4-3 away to spirited mid-tablers Burton. But, inspired by a stellar man-of-the-match performance by Joe Morton, they somehow survived to record their sixth win in a row.

They stay third in the Second Division table, just three points behind leaders Telford and Wrekin as they head into the mid-season Christmas break.

Player/coach Christian Battye said: “We strolled up, expecting Burton to roll over and make things easy for us.

“But we know it is always a difficult place to go and, thankfully, we started to show a bit of quality.

“Burton were excellent, pushed us all the way and looked the better side for long periods.

“Luckily, Joe Morton got hold of the game and really went to town on their defence in the second half.

“Sometimes, you need those big individual performances to lift the team because we were bang-average today.

“A win is a win, though, and we go top of the table if we win our game in hand after Christmas. With new players arriving in January, we are looking strong. As long as we stay committed and focused, we have a great chance of promotion.”

Chesterfield did take the lead when Dan Molloy slotted home after a surging run. But Burton hit back to go 2-1 up by half-time after a moment of madness in the visitors’ defence and then a goal on the counter.

The 17-year-old Morton levelled, finishing a trademark with a clever backhand shot under the ‘keeper. And after the hosts had regained the lead, Molloy converted a penalty to make it 3-3.

In an end-to-end game, Burton still hadn't finished as they edged ahead once more from a penalty corner. And Chesterfield made things even harder for themselves by having four players sin-binned at various stages of the second half.

But Morton made it 4-4, reacting brilliantly to a rebound off the ‘keeper’s pads to net from close range and, with the clock ticking towards a draw, Bacon kept his cool to lift home the winner.