Paul McCullum’s penalty was not enough for Chesterfield as Yeovil Town fought back to claim a 1-1 draw at the Technique Stadium.
McCallum struck a penalty into the net midway through the first half but just before the half time whistle Ryan Law cushioned a header past Fitzsimons to level the scores.
Manager Paul Cook made just one change from Tuesday’s victory over Southend United with Andrew Dallas making his full debut for the Spireites in place of Jes Uchegbulam who moved to the bench.
The first opportunity of the game fell to Dallas who fired his shot wide of the post after excellent hold up play by McCallum down the centre.
The Spireites kept up the pressure early on with the inform Ryan Colclough cutting inside and powering an effort just over the goal after brilliant team build up.
The first clear cut opportunity for the Spireites fell to Laurence Maguire who rose highest to meet Liam Mandeville’s corner only to see his header tipped over the bar by Grant Smith.
A cagey period in the game then ensued with the Spireites continuing to prise open Yeovil’s defence with smart interplay but struggled to convert that play into opportunities.
Yeovil’s first shot on the Chesterfield goal came on the half hour mark when Jamie Reckford played in Law down the left whose audacious chipped effort fell well wide of the mark.
The Spireites took the lead in the 35th minute with McCallum smartly tucking his penalty into the centre of the net after Reckford was deemed to have handled the ball inside the area.
Yeovil had their first meaningful opportunity in the 45th minute and took advantage with Law heading Jordan Young’s delightful cross into the corner to level the tie.
Just after the break Mandeville’s corners continued to wreak havoc with McCallum once again peeling off his defender and seeing his headed effort fly over.
The first 20 minutes of the second half were rather uneventful with both sides having an equal share of possession but having no shots at goal to show for it.
Jeff King nearly made an instant impact after coming on in the 70th minute with a curling freekick from the left-hand side heading into the bottom corner parried wide by Smith.
Tim Akinola brilliantly broke up play in Yeovil’s half and set the ball to Mandeville whose long-range effort could not find the target with ten minutes left.
McCallum had a glorious opportunity in the 86th minute but could only head the ball straight into Smith’s gloves after a clever pass by Mandeville into the striker’s path.
Five added minutes gave the Spireites hope but they just could not find that breakthrough late on to take all three points.
Chesterfield: Fitzsimons, Akinola, Grimes ©, Maguire, Mandeville, Colclough, Williams, McCallum, Sheckleford (King 70), Oldaker (Banks 70), Dallas (Quigley 83).
Unused substitutes: Horton, Uchegbulam.
Murray Chart
