_Phil Tooley takes a look at the game and its context_
**Chesterfield 3 Wigan Athletic 2**
**Vertu Trophy, Round of 32**
I really enjoyed that. A good contest, a real test against a club from a higher division. Just in case you wondered how strong the Wigan Athletic side was, just note they featured three players that have played in the Premier League, two ex-Scottish Premier League players, one has played in the Champions League and one was a sub in an FA Cup Final. Decent I’d say.
No doubt the powers that be enjoyed it as well. Whilst this competition may not have the glamour of the FA Cup or the potential to play top teams like you can in the League Cup, Town picked up another £20,000 for the win, taking the tally received to date to £65,000 and another win in the last-16 would add a further £40,000. Good numbers, even though the matches to date haven’t attracted attendances that will have added any pennies to the coffers. We’ll discover our next opponents on Saturday ahead of the game at Carlisle United.
Paul Cook, 101 times a Wigan player and 155 times a Wigan manager, picked a much-changed side in a 4-1-4-1 with Oldaker as the holder, and they soon carved out a lead. Araujo, Jessop, Mandeville, Oldaker burst, Drummond cross, Berry back heel, Dobra converts. Team goal again, quality with just 124 seconds on the clock.
The Latics had excellence in their line-up. Callum McManaman, a former Premier League player who West Brom paid £4.75m for, was a handful for Branden Horton. He always looked the most likely to equalise, and he did just that, with a deflected shot, but the Spireites’ left-back gradually started to restrict his raids and Chesterfield began to rack up the possession percentage. It ended at 64% for the team in blue.
DJ, able to play despite his EFL suspension, hit a post, with the ball and then with his torso (ouch) in the closest call for a second goal ahead of the break, but when the second did, eventually come, it was deserved for the home side, and it was a goal of a certain inevitability.
Wigan-born James Berry, who played in the Latics academy, delivered a cross-field peach of a ball to ex-Wigan player Ryan Colclough. Fast feet, too fast for Paul Dummett, a Wales international with over 150 Premier League appearances. Penalty, which birthday boy Berry buried. Ten for the season for the 24-year old.
Incidentally, for the 13 minutes leading up to that goal, Chesterfield had a back four made up totally of left-footers, not something you see every day of the week.
Markanday, on at the break, looked to have wrapped things up with a smart goal on 87, but Hugill pulled one back in stoppage time. It probably should have been stopped, but nothing too drastic in the final minutes and the better side on the night won.
Who could we play next? Already through in the Northern Section are Port Vale, Lincoln City, Rotherham United, Bradford City, Wrexham and Bolton Wanderers whilst Blackpool host Aston Villa U21 next week for the final spot.
Plenty of decent performances, but special mentions to the extremely hardworking Kane Drummond and Bailey Hobson, who are being integrated back into the squad following their loan spells in the National League. Drummond’s pace and Hobson’s strength offer something different for PC and his coaches to incorporate into their thinking. Young Liam Jessop also bounced back well from the travails at Stadium:MK a week earlier.
Back to the bread and butter on Saturday with the long trip to Carlisle United, who were offering good money in the summer to players to join their squad. Since then, Paul Simpson has been removed from the manager’s role to be replaced by ex-Gateshead boss Mike Williamson, who’d been at MK Dons for 11 months. He loves to have his teams play attractive, expansive football, but the results to date have been somewhat disappointing and United, who’ve drawn their last three L2 fixtures, have been in the bottom two for the last two-and-a-half months.
Their game last weekend was postponed (at Newport County), so the gaffer has had two weeks to work with his players on the training ground, which will surely help their cause. United’s last outing was a 1-1 home draw with Crewe Alexandra, which attracted a seasonal low attendance of 5,839, some 4,000 down on their first home game of the season, reflecting their difficult campaign to date.
No single player has scored more than two goals in L2 this season, but they’ve conceded only three in their last five games, so Williamson looks like he’s tightened the defence, but only six of their 14 points have come at Brunton Park.
Four of the seven teams above Chesterfield play each other at the weekend, so there could be a very different looking play-off mix by 5pm on Saturday. But for any difference to look good, the Spireites need to end a 24-year run of no wins at Carlisle United, though the last win, back in September 2000, a 4-2 triumph, did come in a promotion season.
Our last game in the extreme north-west saw a certain Mike Jones play for the Cumbrians. Good luck to Mike with his upcoming operation to try to solve his chronic Achilles problem. I can assure you, every Spireite would love to see you back in blue.
Phil’s Positive: Enjoyable game and a win over another higher level team. That’s two cup wins over higher level opponents in each of the last three seasons under PC. Not at all bad.
Next Match: Carlisle United (A), Saturday, December 14, League Two, KO 3pm. Full commentary for subscribers on the commentary platform (find details on Chesterfield FC website). Build-up from 2om, half-time and After the Whistle on the 1866 Sport App.
Chesterfield (4-1-4-1 to start): Boot; Jessop (Gordon 65), Araujo, Grimes, Horton (Cook 79); Oldaker; Berry, Mandeville (Colclough 65), Hobson, Dobra (Markanday 46); Drummond (Grigg 79). Subs (not used): Thompson, Sheckleford.
Goals: Dobra 3, Berry (pen) 78, Markanday 87 (Chesterfield), McManaman 19, Hugill 90+1 (Wigan)
Referee: Greg Rollason
Bookings: Dobra, Horton, Grigg (Chesterfield), Sze, S.Smith (Wigan)
Attendance: 1,583 (237 from Wigan)
Galaxy Travel 1866 Sport Man of the Match: James Berry (chosen by Jamie Hewitt)