Report by North Derbyshire Radio’s Ben Smith.
Chesterfield secured a swift and stylish return to the League Two play-off places on Tuesday night, brushing aside Colchester United 3-0 at the SMH Group Stadium.
Goals from Will Grigg, Dilan Markanday and Lee Bonis, the former of which was registered from the penalty spot, saw their side pick up a very well-deserved three points.
The Spireites returned to home soil after a pair of frustrating weekends out on the road, surrendering a lead in stoppage time to draw 1-1 with Crawley Town before their six-game unbeaten run ended with a 1-0 loss at Barnet.
Those results had seen Paul Cook’s side again slide out of the top seven, with the target of returning providing any further required motivation to enact revenge on a Colchester side who handed them a 6-2 hammering earlier in the season.
Indeed, things looked like playing out rather differently from the off this time round and the hosts would eventually take the lead on 26 minutes, with Grigg demonstrating all his experience to coolly slot home from 12 yards after ex-Town loanee Harvey Araujo had been penalised for handball.
But if that opener had come with some assistance, the second was a pure product of fine attacking play, as James Berry showed great determination and vision to lead a swift counter which culminated in Markanday precisely locating the bottom corner from range.
Cook and Co. therefore found themselves in a commanding position before the game had even reached its halfway point and would extend that advantage further after the interval, with Bonis bursting away to bury past opposing ‘keeper Matt Macey just three minutes after being introduced from the substitutes’ bench.
Such was the degree of home comfort that not even a mammoth 12 minutes of added time at the end of the second half threatened to alter the outcome, and 3-0 it would remain once the referee eventually blew his final whistle.
And having returned to winning ways here, Chesterfield will now look to secure back-to-back victories for the first time since December when they are back at home to host Shrewsbury Town on Saturday.
