Phil Tooley takes a look at the game and its context
Crewe Alexandra 0 Chesterfield 5
League Two Game #2
It cost £28 to get a first-class ticket to the railway town of Crewe, and what do you get? Strike after strike after strike after strike after strike! Typical. My Grandad was a railway man, a signalman at Ba’Rill (some people mistakenly call it Barrow Hill), and if he wanted to stop anything, he’d have a swig of tea and then pull a lever. It took a bit of effort to pull those big levers, much more effort than some folks dressed in red seemed to put in for half an hour or so on Saturday afternoon.
Wherever you look, there are five-star reviews of Spireites’ performance. Totally appropriate for a five-goal show, in a town that has five letters (C-R-E-W-E), and would you believe it, every scorer was a fiver too, Berry, Grigg, Berry, Nails (poetic licence) and Dobra. That’s the sort of stuff I lay in bed thinking about the night after a match before making a brew, popping on a bit of Mozart or Pachelbel, nipping back to bed to write up my musings (technically, Tchaikovsky on at the moment, a bit of Nutcracker, seems suitable).
And before we look at the wonderful match, what a turnaround. Last visit to Alex in 2017, a 5-1 thumping that all but signalled the end of Gary Caldwell’s reign, no hope, non-league beckoning, no connection with the ownership. Bit different to now.
It took just over 30 seconds for the away fans to find their subsequent non-stop voices. Grigg and defender Connolly jump for the ball, it squirms out from between their bodies, and there is James Berry to unleash a stunning shot. Incredible start, incredible goal, incredible scenes. The first Goal of the Season contender.
The next goal will arrive at the platform in 12 minutes. New boy Dilan Markanday swings in a corner (what a debut), Tom Naylor (what injury?) flicks it, Will Grigg was near enough to the flight of the ball to get a typical touch, 2-0, and before the passengers from Chesterfield could find their seats again, HS3 arrived, a fantastic team goal that saw Grigg tee-up Berry for his second and Town’s third. Bet at that point you all mentioned 5-5 in your conversations! I may have slipped Morecambe in as well.
The Mornflake Stadium’s home sector almost certainly vowed to eliminate berries from their porridge in the morning.
‘Bez’ was an inch away from a hat-trick as Naylor headed home another Markanday corner on 28, the score triggered scores of home fans to depart. Young James told me after, ‘If my neck was a little but longer, I’d have got that’, reiterating that particular corner variant was a well-tried training ground routine.
Club historian Stuart Basson confirmed that was only the third time Chesterfield have led 4-0 at half-time in an away Football League game, Cheltenham Town in 2014 (championship season, won 4-1) and Bradford Park Avenue in 1955 (won 5-0). Cue a trio of Crewe subs before the break. It helped tighten them up, but they never looked like upsetting the apple cart, despite Ryan Boot’s stunning first half save to deny Hemmings and a second-half bar-hit.
Dobra made it three from three early in the second half making it only the fifth away game ever in the league that the Spireites have won by five clear goals, two 5-0s and two 6-1s, the last of the latter at Exeter City in 2008. I also thought it worth a mention that, in the League Cup, the team won 5-0 at Field Mill in 1971. Not sure why that’s noteworthy!
Whilst we all could see that Crewe were not an efficient crew, we need to remind ourselves that, last season, they were the ‘best of the rest’, the runners-up in the Wembley play-off final, so we were up against a serious side and we need to give Paul Cook’s team the credit they deserve for creating havoc amongst their opponents.
Markanday looks the real deal, Vontae Daley-Campbell was strong, quick and uncompromising in his first start, whilst subs Harvey Araujo and Liam Jessop seamlessly slotted into the back line, which enabled Lewis Gordon to join the attacking midfield trio, and he lapped that up. The new faces have proved that the gaffer can ensure the likes of Grimes, Tanton, Colclough, Madden, Mandeville, Sheckleford and Palmer can heal properly, no need to rush them back.
Football League Trophy action next, as Manchester City’s U21s come to the SMH. Impossible to know who’ll play, they are allowed three over-age players, but the academy includes Emile Heskey’s son as well as ex-Sheffield Eagles Rugby player Bright Sodje’s son and former cricketer Mark Alleyne’s son, so sporting celeb spotters are welcome!
By the way, one big change since we were last in it, if the game is drawn, each side earns a point, but there is then a penalty shoot-out and the winner earns an extra point. The top two teams at the end of the mini-group go through to the 32-team knockout round. Group winners will play a group runner-up at home.
Phil’s Positive: Too many to single any out, contenders include Markanday, Naylor at centre half, Banks & Oldaker combo, supporters, Bez …… I could go on …..
Next Match: Manchester City U21 (H), Tuesday, August 20, Bristol Street Motors Trophy, KO 7pm. Full commentary for subscribers on the new commentary platform (find details on Chesterfield FC website). Build-up from 6.30pm, half-time and post-match remains on the 1866 Sport App.
Chesterfield (4-2-3-1 to start): Boot; Daley-Campbell (Jessop 76), Naylor, Dunkley, Gordon; Banks, Oldaker; Markanday (Jacobs 56), Dobra (Hobson 66), Berry (Araujo 66); Grigg (Quigley 66). Subs (not used): Williams, Jones.
Goals: Berry 1, 12, Grigg 10, Naylor 28, Dobra 49 (Chesterfield)
Referee: Scott Tallis
Bookings: Daley-Campbell, Grigg, Naylor, Jessop (Chesterfield)
Attendance: 5,626 (1,131 from Chesterfield, looked and sounded like a lot more!)
Banner Jones 1866 Sport Man of the Match: Tom Naylor (chosen by Josh Marsh)
