Report by North Derbyshire Radio’s Senior Football Correspondent Ben Smith
Chesterfield’s League Two campaign got off to a winning start on Saturday as they saw off Barrow 1-0 at the SMH Group Stadium.
Dilan Markanday, who returned to North Derbyshire on a permanent, three-year over the summer, marked his second debut by grabbing the only goal and ultimately all three points for his side.
The Spireites rounded off their pre-season schedule with a tough test and eventual 4-1 defeat to Championship side Sheffield United, but began the competitive campaign here against a side over whom they completed the league double last term.
Add to that home advantage and a general billing as one of the division’s leading promotion contenders this time around, and Paul Cook’s side were perhaps slightly under pressure to send out a statement on opening day.
And after a quiet early spell the hosts did start to show glimpses of their best work in the middle portion of the first 45, with neat play providing chances for Armando Dobra, Will Grigg and Markanday in relatively quick succession.
It would be the latter of that trio, re-signed after a loan from Blackburn Rovers in the first half of the 2024/25 season, who eventually broke the deadlock right before the break, though it may well have been a deflection that took his header definitively past opposing stopper Wyll Stanway.
Home supporters were perhaps allowing themselves the thought of a relatively routine win to kick things off when the first portion of the second half then passed with very little further action.
If so, however, they were given a significant jolt as Innes Cameron went racing through, providing Town ‘keeper Zach Hemming his chance to make a big debut impact with a strong save just seconds after Ryan Stirk had a strong penalty appeal turned down at the other end.
That sparked a much more frantic final third of the game but the scoreline would remain the same come full-time, marking a third consecutive meeting between this pair to end 1-0 in favour of Cook and Co.
And Chesterfield will look to make it two wins for two to start the 25/26 season as they travel down to take on Cheltenham Town next Saturday.
