Phil Tooley takes a look at the game and its context
Gateshead 1 Chesterfield 2 National League Match #34
The great Brian Clough famously said ‘It only takes a second to score a goal’. Bit of poetic licence there. At the point that Liam Mandeville scurried across the dampened race track at the Gateshead International Stadium to retrieve the ball for a last-gasp corner, over the track where Brendan Foster set the World 3000m record back in 1974, Town had gone all but ten games at a scoring rate of one goal every 9000 seconds.
But then, one of Brian’s distant relatives, Colin (known as Col Clough), saw the ball, which Mandy had deliberately got wetter than a sickly sausage roll found on a misty day in the nearby river (you either know, or don’t!), slip from the keeper’s hands. Young Clough reacted quickest to send the 800+ battle weary and wet travelling supporters into ecstasy.
Ryan immediately led his mates on a major route march to celebrate in front of them despite, and as he told me afterwards, being so tired he immediately realised he might not quite make the finish line! As ends to shocking runs go, it was near perfect.
First time we’ve scored a second NL goal in a game since New Year’s Day, second time we’ve come from a goal down to beat Gateshead 2-1 this season, third time that the Netcoms IT Man of the Match Jes Uchegbulam has started a NL game for Chesterfield and the fourth time Town have won 2-1 in an away match this season. What we need next, on Tuesday, is for Paul Cook to get his fifth managerial win against Southend United.
Let’s not kid ourselves, Gateshead were not the best team we’ve seen this season, but having nicked yet another early lead against us, they worked incredibly hard to protect it. Chesterfield dominated, real domination, not a rose-tinted version, but as has been the case in the W-free run, the team didn’t work the # keeper anywhere near enough. The teenager made a save or two, but the until that final flourish (some inconsistent kicking apart), he’d done okay.
Laurence Maguire, starting his first NL game of the season, headed against a post in the first half ahead of Paul McCallum’s fully deserved leveller just before the break after a good move down the right. The striker had a great chance to bag a brace, but didn’t connect as he would have wished, directing the ball straight at Villa loanee Marschall. Thankfully that ended up not being as pivotal a moment as the 1-1 to 2-0 Wrexham event.
The manager made four changes, the patient incomers having notched up only 14 NL starts between them this season, and the quartet as a whole were vital in the win. Sheckleford and Uchegbulam combined really well down the right, shades of King and Mandeville from earlier this season, their pace and positioning were different gravy (sorry DJ), frequently flooding left-back Pye with their skilful shepherding of the ball.
Akinola,back in a holding midfield role, did plenty of ugly stuff, breaking up potential home attacks, whilst Loz played as a defensive left-back, forcing the hosts to keep switching their right-sided personnel as they toiled down that flank.
It was far from wine and roses (that came later, without the roses, when I treated Sylvia to an anniversary dinner in her favourite venue in England on the way home, Grantley Manor near Ripon) for the Spireites. There were bad misses, miscommunications, lapses in concentration, stray passes, delayed crosses, hesitancy in front of goal, but the endeavour was plain to see.
The Heed were pressed into making a myriad of mistakes, there were some great moves and, in that glorious final flurry, you could see the confidence tank being refilled with enough fuel to get us all the way to the Essex coast and back on Tuesday.
Bad runs always come to an end, and whilst ideally we’d have won by a bucketful in this game, the manner of the win, featuring that single, joyous galvanising moment, one all Town fans will remember for a long time, will only be of true value if it’s followed up with another positive result at Roots Hall.
Phil’s Positive: The Bee Gees play list can be altered at last! Tragedy has been dropped, You Win Again takes its place. The depth of our love has really been tested of late, and for most of us, it’s very deep!
The Spireites’ next game is on Tuesday, March 7 2023, when we will be travelling to Southend United, six wins in their last nine NL games, 7.45pm kick-off; 1866 Sport will be live at the stadium from 7pm.
Chesterfield (4-2-3-1 to start): Fitzsimons; Sheckleford, Williams, Grimes, Maguire; Oldaker, Akinola; Uchegbulam (Rowe 80), Mandeville, Colclough; McCallum (Quigley 88). Subs (not used): Banks, Horton, Palmer.
Referee: Scott Jackson
Bookings: Williams, Quigley, Colclough (Chesterfield), Richardson, Francis (Gateshead)
Attendance: 1,779 (807 from Chesterfield)
Netcoms IT 1866 Sport Man of the Match: Jes Uchegbulam (chosen by Josh Marsh)