Well Dale crashed out of the Worthless Cup, suffering a first away defeat under Parkin in the process, and once again it was an own goal by a Dale defender which was the difference between the two teams. It was a good performance by Dale, and there were lots to be happy with, as they had the home side under a lot of pressure for long periods of the game, with chances to win the game outright.

Michael Holt was recalled for his first start of the season, with Clive Platt not allowed to play by Walsall. Other than that it was the usual team as Dale attempted to overturn the 2-1 deficit that they faced from the first leg at Spotland two weeks ago. If that wasn't difficult enough, Dale soon had a mountain to climb within minutes of the kick off.
The game started disastrously for Dale when they found themselves one down within just a couple of minutes of the start. The ball was crossed in from the right wing, and Dave Bayliss attempted to head the ball out of play, but the ball crept inside the near post, giving Neil Edwards absolutely no chance whatsoever.

Dale responded well to this and it was good to see that Dale didn't crumble as a result. Last season, when we conceded a goal, it was often the signal for heads to drop, but today, the Dale players just carried on with the job. The optimists were saying that Dale needed to score two goals anyway, and the Chesterfield goal merely confirmed this.

Dale continued to show the neat passing football. It wasn't easy against a decent side such as Chesterfield. The home side closed the ball down well, and gave the Dale players very little time in possession. The Dale players learned to cope with this and soon began to get on top. Chances weren't as easy to come across as they were on Saturday, but Dale did come close to scoring a couple of times. The main one saw a Dale shot from outside the box hit the inside of the left post and bounce across the goal line and back into play.

We didn't have to wait too long, and it was new signing Wayne Evans who grabbed his first goal for the club with a well taken goal. He received the ball outside the box, and moved across to the left hand side before firing the ball into the back of the net to give Dale a fighting chance.

The second half continued in much the same way that the first finished, with Dale being in command. The Spireites seemed to content to mop up the Dale pressure but there were a few problems caused, and the home side soon got restless, as it looked a matter of time before Dale grabbed the second vital goal. Graham Lancashire had a good chance when Michael Holt got down the left wing and crossed the ball from the dead ball line to Lancashire who was had got free at the near post, but he headed the ball wide.

Dale's best chance fell to Dave Flitcroft, which proved to be the turning point in the game. Flitcroft broke through the home defence, and raced goalwards with the ball, but as he approached the keeper, he was caught by a home defender who managed to divert his shot for a corner. Amazingly Premiership referee Neale Barry who was obviously slumming it for the evening blew for a goal kick.

Dale had been kept in it by Neil Edwards who had pulled off a couple of stunning saves. He had an excellent match, catching every cross, and racing off his line when needed. One save saw him dive to his right hand side at full speed. It was one of his best.

As Dale pressed forward, so did the Dale defence who tried to push up. Dale were caught, when yet another long ball from Chesterfield saw Ebdon get the ball in acres of space. He had time to control and fire the ball over Neil Edwards.

Heads on the terraces dropped on this second goal, as that meant Dale were going to have to score twice in the remaining ten minutes. Bruno was introduced in the last five minutes to rapturous applause from the home side, as was Paul Carden.

Overall, the night was a disappointing one, only as far as what might have been. There was a disappointing turn out from Dale considering the numbers that had travelled to York three days previous. As mentioned above, there were a lot of good points to come out of the match. It was good to see how the players did not let the early setback knock them back completely, as they battled back even after Chesterfield scored the killer second goal.

Dale: Edwards, Evans, Stokes, Bayliss, Hill, Ford (Carden), Flitcroft, Peake, Atkinson, Lancashire, Holt (Morris)
man of the match: Dean Stokes
 

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