Phil Tooley takes a look at the game and its context
Chesterfield 3 Barnet 1
League Two Game #20
Bees blasted by brilliant Bonis. Delicious Duffy deliveries did damage. Metronome Mandeville much harder to alliterate! A bit like the game; bang on to start, then fell away somewhat before our longest serving player left-footed a shot after a Will Grigg back heel. The goal couple return, albeit the wrong way round!
The game was a microcosm of the season. We all know that the Spireites have some great players and we all know they will, at some time, click for a long period of time. From 3pm to 3.40pm, they clicked. The League Two Rolls Royce in action. Forty minutes of fluorescence.
Barnet, unbeaten away from home in L2 since their first away match of the season, couldn’t get their engine started as Chesterfield motored on down the fast lane, no one was going to catch them. Lee Bonis (doubters apologise now) reacted quickest to the keeper’s save to fire home second go after brilliant work by Lewis Gordon and Dylan Duffy.
Dean Brennan’s two-stroke Trabant was spluttering so much, he had to halt proceedings and stop at the services to have it checked over. After a few minutes, the journey had to continue, but the Roller rolled on and its class continued to ooze out.
Bonis, brilliant control, but his foot slipped and hit the brake rather than the accelerator, before Duffy again navigated the perfect route to goal, enabling the man in the driving seat to use his head and arrive at the right destination.
Five minutes before Town were due in the services, the wheels dropped off. Roller became stroller, Limo became minnow and Spireites were like a fish without water, a rabbit in the headlights as the Trabby spat out the blockage and started to enjoy a smooth ride that looked as though it could reach the destination they were aiming for.
Chesterfield were cornered (again) and, a few days after Elvis sang at the Community Trust’s Memory Club, they looked all shook up. Chance for the Spireites mechanics to sort things out, but the 15 minutes they had didn’t seem to work, as the two-stroke purred and the Rolls Royce spluttered.
Zach Hemming wonder one on one (another again), post clattered, cornering was a problem, Barnet had 13, and what looked like a pre-Christmas cakewalk was turning into a festive frightmare.
Cookie changed some of the reindeers pulling the strings and the visitor’s motive power began to fade a little, as Town began to occasionally park for a minute or two in front of the Kop end, but they didn’t quite line-up perfectly in the bays. Tom Naylor decided not to go for the parking spot, asking James Berry for some help, and Berry himself didn’t quite get his spatial analysis bang on, but at least the ultimate destination was getting closer, even though the ride was filled with unpalatable potholes.
Then the man with more miles under his belt than any other Spireite stepped up to the driver’s seat, helped along the way by Berry and Grigg, who enabled Liam Mandeville to try a bit of left-foot braking, a potentially dangerous stunt, but he got it bang on and Chesterfield arrived at top-seven heaven with ten minutes to spare, allowing Naylor to pump up the crowd when the engine was eventually turned off.
A fraught journey that began so pleasurably but, turn off that engine for just a second, and chances are it won’t fire up again properly; fortunately though it did, against the team that’s played the Spireites more times than any other on Whittington Moor. Their last five trips here have seen five Chesterfield wins and 20 home goals, they must hate the journey.
The Spireites’ next trip is to struggling Shrewsbury Town, and it’s impossible to guess what will happen there; last three trips, lost one, won one, drawn one. Michael Appleton has ex-Spireites Sam Clucas and Tom Anderson on the roster. They’ve only won one in seven in L2 – a 1-0 home win over bottom side Newport County – but on Saturday an Anderson goal earned them a point at Walsall, a fourth draw in the last seven games, so difficult to beat.
Chesterfield have patched things up a little after the 6-2 loss at Colchester United. Nine L2 games since then, just one loss, 12 goals conceded, so a small step in the right direction, which will be needed in 2025’s final two games, both at home to fellow contenders Notts County and Cambridge United.
Play like the first 40 against Barnet, and no-one will match us. Play like minutes 41 to 70, and…. Crikey, it doesn’t bare thinking about!
Have the happiest of Christmases, see you post-Santa.
Phil’s Positive: The first 40 minutes showed what the team can do when all systems are go. Sumptuous football. Please can I have some more?
Next Match: Saturday, December 20 at 3pm, we visit Shrewsbury Town, who have Sam Clucas in their line-up. Listen to the build-up and After the Whistle on 1866 Sport from 2pm with commentary being on the subscription platform. Hear from the Gary Roberts and Dylan Duffy in After the Whistle podcast from after the Barnet game.
Chesterfield (4-2-3-1 to start): Hemming; Tanton (Daley-Campbell 66), McFadzean, Dunkley, Gordon; Naylor, Stirk (Dickson 90+2); Mandeville, Darcy (Berry 66), Duffy (Butterfield 72); Bonis (Grigg 72). Subs (not used); Boot, Lewis.
Goals: Bonis 11, 38, Mandeville 80 (Chesterfield), Shelton 41 (Barnet)
Referee: Peter Wright
Bookings: Gordon, Dunkley, Stirk (Chesterfield)
Attendance: 7,533 (225 from Barnet)
1866 Sport Banner Jones Man of the Match: Dylan Duffy (chosen by Josh Marsh)
