Chesterfield return to action this weekend with a trip to a struggling Colchester United side who are winless in their last seven League Two fixtures.
The Spireites secured their only win of September last week with a stylish 4-1 victory at home to Newport County, who are also languishing at the bottom of the table.
Paul Cook’s side currently sit in sixth place with 18 points from 10 games but three points at the JobServe Community Stadium could take them up to second.
Last match
The Blues picked up their first win in over a month last Saturday against a poor Newport side who had collected just five points in their first nine games of the season.
Jamie Grimes, Devan Tanton and Will Dickson made their first league starts of the campaign, with the latter featuring as a number 10 behind Will Grigg despite arriving on loan from Manchester City as a striker.
Early chances for Armando Dobra and Dickson both went just yards wide of the goal but the scoring was opened just after the half-hour mark by Grigg.
A lovely cross from the right by Liam Mandeville found the Northern Irishman in the middle of the penalty box and he perfectly guided his header into Nik Tzanev’s bottom right corner for his first goal of the season.
The hosts’ lead was then doubled just before half-time by loanee Dickson.
The 20-year-old drove on with the ball although from inside his own half and, once into the box, cut in past one defender and curled the ball into the corner of the goal for his first senior career goal.
Although Chesterfield dominated the ball, the visitors gave themselves hope of a draw with 10 minutes left when winger Michael Spellman fired a deflected effort past Zach Hemming.
He was allowed to cut in from the right side and, unluckily for Grimes, was helped by a touch off the defender’s back which left Hemming unable to stop it.
However, the Spireites made sure they did not let the three points slip and restored their two-goal lead in the 84th minute through substitute Ronan Darcy.
The Wigan Athletic loanee was slipped in by a neat Dobra pass and finished beautifully by dinking the ball over Tzanev.
The game was not done yet and fellow sub Dilan Markanday made it four in the final minutes.
He chased onto Tom Naylor’s through ball before twisting and turning past Tom Davies and firing the ball in off the leg of Tzanev.
The full-time result, albeit against a poor opponent, encouraged Blues fans and, although they dropped a place due to Grimsby Town’s 7-1 thrashing of Cheltenham Town, they retained their position in the play-offs.
Spireites team news
Will Grigg’s good week continued on Wednesday as the 34-year-old signed a new contract at the club, running until the summer of 2027.
His existing deal was set to expire at the end of the current season but his time in the North Derbyshire will now run into its fourth year.
Further positive news saw Dylan Duffy’s recovery from a cyst on his knee step up as he returned to training, with his participation in full first-team training a few weeks away.
Fellow midfielder Luke Butterfield remains out with a broken foot but should be back on the grass in a few weeks, whereas Matt Dibley-Dias will be sidelined for a number of months still.
Defender Janoi Donacien re-signed with the club during the week, penning a deal until the end of the season, after completing his rehabilitation with the team after injury ended his season last year.
The 31-year-old signed a six-month deal in January but made just eight appearances before a hamstring problem ruled him out from March onwards.
He will provide competition for Vontae Daley-Campbell and Devan Tanton at right-back, while also being able to fill in at centre-back if needed.
Opposition news
Danny Cowley’s Colchester side have had a poor start to their season, picking up just one win against fellow strugglers Shrewsbury Town in their third game.
The U’s finished 10th last season in the former Lincoln City and Portsmouth manager’s first full season in charge but have come unstuck in front of goal so far, scoring more than once in just two of their 10 games.
Their summer transfer dealings included the signings of defenders Jack Baldwin and Jack Tucker from Northampton Town and MK Dons, as well as former League One promotion winner Dominic Gape from Shrewsbury Town.
They lost young winger Oscar Thorn to third-tier Lincoln and released striker Lyle Taylor, who scored 10 goals last season and has won promotion from all three tiers of the EFL.
The Montserrat international subsequently dropped down two leagues to join National League South side Chelmsford City.
Last weekend’s game saw them lose 4-2 at Fleetwood Town despite leading 2-1 at half-time through goals from Kyreece Lisbie and Jack Payne.
Former Wrexham man Jordan Davies then scored a second-half brace before Mark Helm wrapped up the game in added time.
In his 86 games in charge, Cowley has won just 25, drawn 36 and lost 25 to leave him with a win rate of 29%.
Previous encounter
The Spireites failed to beat the U’s last season, drawing 1-1 at home, with Grigg and Payne on the scoresheet, and losing 1-0 away in a game which saw Paddy Madden sent off.
Colchester United 1-0 Chesterfield, 4 March 2025:
Spireites lineup: Ryan Boot, Ryheem Sheckleford, Ash Palmer, Jamie Grimes, Jack Sparkes, Tom Naylor (Michael Olakigbe), Ollie Banks (John Fleck), Liam Mandeville (Bim Pepple), Bailey Hobson (Ryan Colclough), Dylan Duffy (Armando Dobra), Paddy Madden
Match details
Colchester United v Chesterfield
League Two
Saturday 4 October
15:00 KO
JobServe Community Stadium, Colchester
