Chesterfield kicked off their League Two season with three points in a 1-0 win over Barrow on the opening day. Dilan Markanday was on the scoresheet, and he’ll be looking to grab his first away goal of the season this weekend.
Cheltenham didn’t have such joy in their first fixture, falling to a 1-0 defeat to freshly-relegated Cambridge United. Despite this, optimism should remain high in the south west as the Robins look to build on their finishing position of 15th last season.
In the spotlight
Twenty-two-year-old Ethon Archer is a hot prospect at the EV Charger Points Stadium. After signing last summer he featured in every single league fixture, making 42 starts across the season.
He chipped in with seven goals and six assists, predominantly from the left wing, and will be a threat going forward for Cheltenham.
The gaffer’s record
Over 11 games against the opposition, Paul Cook has seen five wins, four losses and two draws. Despite his last win coming back in the 2016/17 League Two season with Portsmouth, Cook’s team’s performances seem to generate big scorelines against the Robins.
In his first spell with the Spireites he earned two 4-1 victories, before winning in emphatic fashion a few years later on the south coast as his Pompey side ran out 6-1 winners.
Man in the middle
Benjamin Speedie has officiated two Chesterfield games, both of which came last season.
The first one was the 2-0 Boxing Day loss to Fleetwood, and he later took charge of the 0-0 home draw with Harrogate.
In 242 recorded appearances, he was shown 712 yellow cards and 33 reds.
Danny Webb’s pre-match thoughts
“Our last visit was a pretty boring, average game. They weren’t great, we weren’t great. We probably felt we deserved it but everyone’s going to say that.
“We missed some good chances and a sucker punch right near the end. The Monday after was probably one of our longest days going back over the game because there was so much that the gaffer wasn’t happy with. We certainly don’t want a repeat of that.”
