Report by North Derbyshire Radio Senior Football Correspondent Ben Smith
Chesterfield and Bradford City played out a high-scoring classic at the SMH Group Stadium, where things eventually ended 3-3 in a crunch game in the League Two promotion race.
Jenson Metcalfe, Will Grigg and Liam Mandeville helped rescue a point for a home side who twice trailed by a two-goal margin after goals from Bobby Pointon, Antoni Sarcevic and Alex Pattison.
The Spireites came into Monday’s meeting having earned a solid 0-0 draw down at AFC Wimbledon on Good Friday, a result made all the more valuable by the fact it moved them to within striking distance of the top seven.
Bradford, meanwhile, arrived in North Derbyshire knowing hopes of both automatic promotion and a potential title would be greatly improved if they could return with a victory.
The stakes could hardly have been higher, then, and it would be the sell-out away following that were treated to a dream start when Pointon placed a shot perfectly into the bottom corner of Ryan Boot’s goal with less than ten minutes on the clock.
And things would get better still for the Bantams shortly after as Sarcevic calmly slotted home from the spot after Tom Naylor was judged to have committed a foul.
The hosts were rather left in a daze by that opening 20 minutes but did start to gather themselves as things edged towards the break, with Ryan Colclough and then Naylor both going close to halving the deficit.
And right before that half-time whistle went they would find a potential route back into the match, with Everton loanee Metcalfe finding the target via the post.
That route would encounter a diversion within minutes of the restart, however, with City captain Pattison capping a fine move with a well-guided header into the top corner.
Still things weren’t definitively settled, though, as Grigg showed great composure to round opposing ‘keeper Sam Walker and apply the finish to make it a one-goal game once more.
Indeed, there would still be one final dramatic twist in the second of seven stoppage time minutes at the end of the game, with Mandeville turning in from the close range to earn a point which keeps his team just about in the race for promotion.
And Chesterfield will try to take that play-off fight into the final day of the season with a win against already-relegated Morecambe in Saturday’s final home game of the campaign.
