Southampton 0 Chesterfield 3
Chesterfield has
emphatically lifted themselves out of the doldrums with a dominant 3-0 win
against fellow strugglers Southampton. After a dismal run of results with 7
losses in their last 10 matches and four points in their last five, Chesterfield
alleviated some of the pressure which saw them plummet down the Division Three
table.
Spanish defender Mikel San
Jose, Leon Britton and Miraleum Sulejmani were the goal scorers.
Coming into matchday 32, the
match pregame hype circled around a crucial relegation six pointer between two
sides that had underachieved this season. Southampton were heavy favourites with
talents such as Yoann Gourcuff, Manuel Fernandes and Nikica Jelavic while
Chesterfield stated they would make it difficult for the Saints.
The Spireites made an
enforced change with Mehmet Ekici returning to the starting line-up in place of
the suspended Adam Lallana.
Both sides began cautiously
until a long range shot from Dabo was miraculously saved by Spireites keeper
Claudio Bravo. Chesterfield responded with two long shots of their own with
both centre halves Mikel San Jose and Vladimir Granat testing the keeper
however Saints keeper Demirel were equal to both attempts.
Not to be outdone, Chilean
keeper Bravo dove across his goal to make the save when Southampton’s Manuel Fernandes
found himself in some shooting space. However the deadlock was broken by free
shooting centre back Mikel San Jose when he was allowed too much time and space
for a shot which was just out Demirel’s reach.
The Spireites continued
their patch of dominance when Spanish striker Rodrigo chested down a high ball
into the path of Leon Britton who sent his shot goalwards, only for the shot to
miss the target. The siege on the Saints’ goal continued when Ekici provided a
lovely through ball to Rodrigo which was dispatched but Demirel was able to
parry the shot away.
But the pressure finally
tolled when cheeky chip from Rodrigo was met by the onrushing Miraleum
Sulejmani who nodded the ball past the keeper and doubling the Spireites lead.
Chesterfield killed off the
game just after half time when Mehmet Ekici supplied a lovely dead ball cross
which was met by the shortest man on the field, Leon Britton who buried the
header kissing the post on its way in. The goal capped off a brilliant display
by the English metronome who has been one of the few shining lights in a
disappointing season.
Britton dictated the tempo
of play from the base of midfield and dominated throughout with his precise
passing
and composure in front of the back three.
The result alleviated some
of the pressure which suggested that the Spireites were destined for relegation
however the resilience and belief held by Chesterfield shone through in a
season defining performance
Manager Glory Days was
delighted with the result
“We gave our all today. I’m
really proud of the boys for their response, the group is tightly knit and if
we were honest with ourselves, we haven’t been playing well lately but today
that all changed, I think our interchange of passes and general play was
excellent. The job isn’t done yet, we still need to keep going and grab 45
points to secure safety”
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