Ryan Stirk rescued a dramatic late point for 10-man Chesterfield as they battled to a 1-1 draw at Fleetwood Town.
The Spireites were up against it for much of the second half after centre-back Kyle McFadzean was shown a red card for a last-man foul on Ronan Coughlan just past the hour mark. Fleetwood took advantage soon after, with Coughlan setting up Ched Evans, who fired home emphatically off the inside of the post to give the hosts the lead.
Chesterfield had already ridden their luck earlier in the game. In a first half short on clear chances, Fleetwood came closest when Ethan Ennis delivered a dangerous cross into the box, leading to goal-line blocks denying both Evans and Mitch Clark.
After the break, goalkeeper Ryan Boot kept Chesterfield in contention with a series of important saves, denying Coughlan, Clark and Jordan Davies as Fleetwood pressed for a second goal.
But despite being a man down, Chesterfield refused to give in. With just a minute remaining, a partially cleared free-kick dropped kindly for Stirk, who drilled his effort through a crowded penalty area and into the net to earn a valuable point for the play-off hopefuls.
