The Spireites beat Wealdstone 2-0 in their first home game of the season following goals from Saidou Khan and George Carline.
James Rowe made three changes to the team that defeated Aldershot on the opening day of the campaign with Jack Clarke, Fraser Kerr and Khan all making their first starts of the season.
The first opportunity of the game saw Khan slip in Calvin Miller down the left. His left-footed cross was met by Jeff King, but he couldn’t direct his header goalwards.
Moments later, a quick throw in from Miller found the feet of Khan (4) who turned neatly past a Wealdstone defender and drilled a low shot into the bottom left-hand corner of the net beyond the diving George Wickens.
Wealdstone hit back with an opportunity soon after. A long free kick found Rhys Browne in space. He mis-controlled at first but still managed to fire a shot into the side netting.
Patient play from the home side saw Rowe find the ball at his feet and his snap-shot was parried away for a corner by Wickens. The resulting short corner came to nothing.
Browne was the next player to go close in the game. The visitors retained the ball well after a corner on the left, but the striker’s effort was straight at Scott Loach in the Chesterfield goal.
Just after the half-hour mark, the Spireites couldn’t convert a chance in the six-yard area. A corner was swung in by Miller, Laurence Maguire headed back across for Kerr, but his effort landed on the roof of the net.
The away side carved out a chance at the other end as Craig Fasanmade found space on the edge of the area and fired a shot narrowly wide of Loach’s left post.
The Blues went into the break with a deserved lead, but the high pressure and tempo were impressive aspects of their play in the first 45.
The visitors started the second period on the front foot and won a free-kick after Maguire was adjudged to have handled the ball. The resulting set-piece was headed narrowly wide of the Chesterfield goal.
After 15 minutes of midfield action, the next shot in anger fell the way of Wealdstone, Fasanmade firing his effort over Loach’s crossbar just after the hour-mark.
Wealdstone carved out a third opportunity after a period of Chesterfield pressure. A long ball from the goalkeeper played Joshua Umerah through and his powerful effort was saved well by Loach.
At the opposite end of the field, Kabongo Tshimanga drew a foul 20 yards out on the left and Jak McCourt’s cross was headed just wide by Maguire at the back post.
The Spireites doubled their lead in the 81st minute. A quick free-kick found Kerr whose shot from around 25 yards out was met by an acrobatic save by Wickens in the Wealdstone goal. From the resulting corner, Gunning kept the ball alive with an overhead kick which Carline nodded home at the far post.
Chesterfield: Loach, Miller, Maguire, Gunning, Kerr, King (Carline 14), Khan (McCourt 45), Weston, Clarke, Rowe (Payne 68), Tshimanga
Unused subs: Mandeville & Grimes
Attendance: 5,356 (170 away)
