Phil Tooley takes a look at the game and its context
Harrogate Town 2 Chesterfield 1
League Two Game #16
We all need a bit of a reality check. Me included! During the game, I flew off the handle after Town conceded from a soft free-kick and particularly (and very petulantly) after the ball cannoned off the referee in the build-up for the last-gasp Harrogate winner.
Subsequent reaction across the patch has seen individual players blamed, the timing of the substitutions blamed, the manager blamed, the team as a whole blamed, the formation blamed, the starting XI blamed, the team changes blamed, a lack of Plan B blamed. I’m surprised Mike Tyson wasn’t in the mix!
We all have our own personal views, and long may that continue, but we sometimes just need to take stock a bit. Paul Cook, the only Chesterfield manager ever to win two championships for the club, is the first to say his team, more accurately, his squad, is a work in progress, and this season, progress has been interrupted by injuries and is a bit slower than we ‘d all hoped. We’ve got a very deep squad, and that depth means that, at this moment, the bevvy of talent within is still to be moulded into a fully functioning team. We all know that.
Let’s look at some facts. In league matches that could potentially affect our positional standing (the defeats at the end of last season after the title was clinched could not), we’ve just lost two on the spin. Disappointing. Last occasion? February 2023, that’s 21 months ago.
Chesterfield, at a new higher level, sit in place #11. Top half. Bromley are nine places lower. Maybe that step up was bigger than we all thought. The 29 goals scored remains a divisional high and the goal difference of +9 is the third highest in League Two. There’s plenty going right as well as plenty not working as well as we all want.
But after two-thirds plus of possession against both Accrington Stanley and Harrogate Town, both extremely hard-working, in-your-face type sides, a zero points tally and just one scored versus five conceded, against two bottom half sides, far from ideal. You can’t get away from that, and the gaffer will be the first to admit, that’s not where we need to be.
Referee calls or not, the show at the Exercise Stadium was well below par. Bar the brief moment of ecstasy when James Berry whacked in the leveller with his first action off the bench, everything else was all a bit underwhelming.
Ryan Boot prevented at least one other concession, and a flag ruled out another after the hosts cut through the blue wall. It may have turned badly wrong right at the end, but it could have been much worse much earlier.
I didn’t think the free-kick for Harrogate’s opener was a foul. The strike itself was excellent, but the scorer from the rebound, Toby Sims, was left all alone in the box ahead of his shot.
The laws of the game state that if the ball hits the referee and aids a ‘promising attack’ a drop-ball should be awarded. I was well positioned on the side of the ground where that happened and remain convinced that play should have been halted for that reason. Other views may differ, and the camera angle doesn’t convey the full effect of the coming together of ball and official. Controversial, but a salutary lesson in playing the circumstances and playing to the whistle.
Berry’s brilliance was a rare ray of sunshine and yet another incredible strike from the left-sider, but there were too few bits of brightness from Spireites’ other flair players and too many, in truth, pretty dull moments from the team as a whole.
Harrogate midfielders Stephen Duke-McKenna, drafted in after a warm-up injury for James Daly, scorer of the winner Dean Cornelius and Stephen Dooley ran their taters off, never giving an inch to anyone in blue, whilst skipper (and assistant referee) Josh Falkingham reminded us of how effective National League learning can be.
The hosts were hungry, industrious, sharp and for almost all of the game, superior. Whilst Chesterfield may have left the ground with a bitter taste in their mouths, Harrogate left home as deserved winners. Hard to take in the circumstances, but nevertheless, warranted.
The fixture list rolls out the Barrow next weekend. The Bluebirds, managed by Ray’s lad Stephen Clemence, are themselves going through a rough patch. No wins in six L2 games, just four scored in that run, a 3-1 home loss against AFC Wimbledon their result this weekend. Andrew Dallas scored their goal. That said, earlier in the campaign they beat leaders Port Vale 4-0, so we will be tested to the full again.
We’re all guilty of instant fury (could link that to the earlier Tyson reference), I certainly was with my thoughts on conceding the stoppage time goal, and social media has been full of it. But there’s not one blue blooded person that wouldn’t have snapped your hands off when Archie Mair save a couple of pens at Wembley if they been offered a top half L2 spot by November 2024.
Loud voices and furious fingers are part of an instant sort of life these days, with consideration and thoughtful analysis not as common as they used to be. I’m absolutely hacked off right now, but I know what we’ve got at the club, and what we’ve got is good, and I know that it’s better than defeats against Accrington and Harrogate. Three points off the play-offs, one win away from FAC3. This catastrophe thing looks half decent.
Phil’s Positive: Not much to work with here, but I’m pretty positive that we’ve got more than enough to get back on track sooner rather than later.
Next Match: Barrow (H), Saturday 23 November, EFL2, KO 3pm. Full commentary for subscribers on the commentary platform (find details on Chesterfield FC website). Build-up from 2pm, half-time and post-match remains on the 1866 Sport App. We also have commentary on Monday, November 18 of the FA Youth Cup game against Shrewsbury Town (held at Alfreton) KO 7pm.
Chesterfield (4-2-3-1 to start): Boot; Tanton (Colclough 76), Naylor, Grimes, Gordon (Madden 76); Banks, Oldaker (Berry 76); Markanday (Araujo 76), Mandeville, Dobra; Grigg. Unused Subs: Rinaldo, Williams, Jacobs
Goals: Berry 77 (Chesterfield), Sims 57, Cornelius 90+1 (Harrogate)
Referee: John Mulligan
Bookings: Naylor, Tanton, Banks, Dobra, Grigg (Chesterfield), Moon, Asare, Falkingham (Harrogate)
Chesterfield manager Paul Cook also received a yellow card.
Attendance: 3,686 (1,058 from Chesterfield)
Galaxy Travel 1866 Sport Man of the Match: Ryan Boot (chosen by Josh Marsh)
