Chesterfield (U18s) 2-2 Doncaster Rovers (U18s)

Chesterfield (U18s) 2-2 Doncaster Rovers (U18s)
Football League Youth Alliance
Saturday 16th November 2019

Despite goals by Junior Smith and Will McGowan earning the lads a point in a draw with Chesterfield, was this a point gained or two points lost?

It was pretty much the discussion amongst folk on the way out of the venue yesterday and there were definitely two different perspectives. In the context of the performance, I'd personally view it as a point gained - one which might prove valuable come the end of the season in terms of title chances!

The overall performance undeniably needed improvement - it was bitty, inconsistent, sloppy at times, and not dissimilar from some of the other displays in recent weeks. The Spireites, frustratingly, equalised (twice) when they really shouldn't have been allowed to and they also mustered up a few other openings which could have found the net.

That said, Rovers were the better 'footballing' side. In small periods, the lads moved the ball well, looked dangerous and were unfortunate on more than a couple of occasions that some of their ideas just didn't quite come off.

McGowan was instrumental on the ball time and again, whilst Smith had another positive enough game. Lirak Hasani grew into things more and more as the minutes ticked by and Marius Conradi came off the bench to deliver his best showing of the season - strong, determined and being a nuisance for the home defence.

Nevertheless, the performance wasn't complete enough for the win - even though the lads were definitely on top in the closing stages and, had there been another 5-10 minutes been left to play, they might have found a winner.

Despite near-incessant rain during the previous 48 hours, weather conditions weren't too bad during the game aside from a couple of brief spells of drizzle. A 4G pitch meant there were no problems at all with the playing surface.

The first few minutes were quite tentative with not much going on, though Rovers did muster up a half-chance when a set-piece ball towards the penalty spot, from the right flank, was flicked on by Smith ahead of a flapping 'keeper who'd left his line. The ball eventually fell to Ben Blythe who couldn't get enough power to direct his subsequent shot towards goal and a comfortable clearance was eventually made by one of the covering defenders.

Soon afterwards, there was a stoppage in play when Liam Ravenhill clashed heads with an opponent just inside the Spireites' own half. The collision made a horrible sound, initially appeared to be very serious, and resulted in both players dropping to the floor. Fortunately, it wasn't too bad, however, and after a minute or two, both players were able to continue.

Ravenhill did need to go to the sidelines for some extra treatment as he'd marginally come off worse and within seconds of him re-entering the pitch, he made a crucial interception on the edge of his own box just as a Chesterfield player was about to unleash a shot.

Over the next quarter-hour or so, there wasn't too much to write about. Opportunities at both ends were sparse, though in terms of play the hosts did get on top and got the ball wide (from where they looked most threatening) on a handful of occasions, but they couldn't make a decisive, piercing pass or deliver a telling cross to really pose questions.

At the other end, there were a few times when Rovers tried to release Watson, Smith and Derrett down the inside channels - including three attempted balls in a 45-second spell. The ideas were generally right, yet on each occasion, the execution of the ball or first touch from the attackers just wasn't quite what it needed to be and the Spireites' kept things at bay.

Around the half-hour mark, Chesterfield were forced into a substitution when one of their players was left in agony having suffered some sort of hand/finger injury in an accidental collision with McGowan.

Not long after the change, the hosts went close when Cunningham was caught out in the left-back position and, after a Spireites player delivered a ball into the box, Blythe had to make a timely block to thwart someone before the ball ricocheted, bobbled and was eventually cleared away. It was all a bit untidy and more Spireites pressure moments later ended when Ben Bottomley showed good hands to claim a deep cross towards the back-post area as Rovers came under a bit more pressure.

There was then a comedy moment that would have been worth £250 for 'You've Been Framed' had it been caught on camera, when Watson, tracking back to help out defensively, inadvertently smashed an attempted clearance straight at Cunningham who took the full force of the ball in his knackers from only a few yards away. Needless to say, the left-back dropped to the floor in absolute agony, with tears in his eyes, and probably had a high-pitched voice for the rest of the day!

Nevertheless, it sparked something in Rovers as from this point up to half-time the lads enjoyed a pretty dominant spell where Chesterfield struggled to get out of their own half and were under pressure.

On 39 minutes, a free-kick was awarded on the edge of the area; perfect for a right-footed player, when the referee brought back play after Smith was fouled but still got a shot away. Instead, the left-footed McGowan took the resulting set-piece and laid the ball off to Hasani whose slicing shot was harmlessly off-target.

Whilst that idea didn't quite come off, the next move certainly did - and resulted in a goal as Smith got in-behind, close to the byline inside the area, and hammered a shot goalwards which ricocheted off a defender's body at point-blank range, crossed the line in mid-air and nestled in the back of the net. Even if the Spireites player had hooked the ball clear (as was possible), the linesman was flagging to say that it had crossed the line anyway!

The goal was fortuitous as the team display up to this point had been very 'hit and miss' but it meant the lads had something to protect and they continued to play on the front, probing and pressing, up to the interval.

The second half performance, largely, was a continuation of the first 45 minutes and began in drizzly conditions with the Spireites enjoying the early initiative. Disappointingly, it took only a few minutes for the hosts to find an equaliser - coming when a striker showed good movement to get into space and fire a powerful low shot through Bottomley's legs with the move materialising down their left-hand side.

Back on level terms, Donny needed to 'up the ante' again and get a better foothold, but instead, the next few minutes were quite scrappy with misplaced passes, attacks breaking down too simply, and not enough penetration of creativity from either side.

As the hour mark approached, Rovers had begun to raise their standards and Watson won a free-kick on the edge of the box when he was clumsily brought down by a defender.

Unlike the previous set-piece in the first half, this one was absolutely perfect for McGowan and the midfielder let fly with a sumptuous strike that curled over the wall, beyond the reach of the diving 'keeper and into the net. It was a high-quality attempt that deserved all the applause and admiration which it subsequently received from onlookers.

At 2-1 with half-an-hour to go, there was an almost palpable feeling that if the lads could find another goal then it would kill any hopes of another Chesterfield comeback.

Despite that feeling, however, and despite some decent possession in and around the box for a minute or two after the re-start following the goal, within only a few minutes the Blues were back on level terms. This time Rovers couldn't clear the danger inside their own box and a shot was eventually fired into Bottomley's bottom-right corner.

It was frustrating, annoying, irritating - especially because momentum immediately now swung back in the hosts' favour, yet it showed precisely just how much of a 'mixed bag' this performance was.

Rovers then made a change with Owan Derrett being replaced by Conradi.

In the last 25 minutes, there wasn't a great deal in the way of opportunities though Rovers did press, loiter and dictate things more and by the end, they were pressing hard for a winner.

Chances that were created saw Smith flash a powerful snap-shot wide from about 15 yards, whilst Conradi latched onto a cross into the box, chested it down and had the ball pinched away from him, when he may as well have headed it.

Cunningham, on the left flank, couldn't find accuracy with a couple of crosses despite being in threatening positions on both occasions, Hasani looked more and more dangerous in the middle against a tiring defence, whilst Watson worked hard but to no avail and also needed treatment after becoming the second player to get one in the knackers during the closing stages.

Eventually, time ran out and the score ended 2-2; a point apiece and again it's a result which, depending on how you view it, can be interpreted in different ways.

Team: Ben Bottomley, Josh Clemitson, Nathan Dimou, Ben Blythe (C), Lewis Cunningham, Liam Ravenhill, Lirak Hasani, Will McGowan, Owan Derrett (Marius Conradi), Jack Watson, Junior Smith.