Chesterfield FC Women were back at home today after a run of away games. They were at home to Belper Town in a game that ended in a 2-1 defeat for the Spireites, but if there was a game they didn’t deserve to lose, it was this one.
The Spireites started the game brilliantly with some great passages of play and dominating possession. This paid off in the 24th minute when Faye Delaney looped the ball from the edge of the area, over the Belper’keeper, to put the Spireites 1-0 up.
Despite the Spireites’ dominance, Belper were quick to level in the 26th minute with their first chance of the game.
Chesterfield continued to dominate and Millie Pinkney came close to pulling back the lead in the 33rd minute but her long-range shot hit the bar.
Just over five minutes later, Megan Breeze also came close to scoring with an effort from around 30 yards, but it was just wide.
The second half started much the same for the Spireites as they enjoyed the majority of possession. Just a few minutes into the half, Megan Clarkson made a driving run out of defence to the edge of the Belper penalty area, before taking a shot that went just over the bar.
Although Chesterfield were again on top, an unfortunate slip at the back led to Belper taking the lead in the 68th minute.
The Spireites pushed on for the rest of the half, having the majority of possession and chances, but it wasn’t meant to be. The game was marred by an off-the-ball incident in stoppage time, resulting in a Belper player being shown a red card.
Spireites: Carroll, Breeze, Clarkson (Watkinson 87), Francis, Lee (Brodrick 25), Watkinson (Lilleyman 63), O’Brien, Pinkney, Delaney, Hulme, Graham
Holland replaced Brodrick as roll on roll off sub (71)