Chesterfield extended their winning run from three to four by beating play-off contenders Eastleigh 1-0 at the Silverlake Stadium.
James Rowe made two changes to his starting eleven with Josef Yarney and Joe Rowley coming into the side.
The home side came close to opening the scoring in the first minute when Dan Smith latched onto a free-kick however the Eastleigh man couldn’t get enough power on it to trouble namesake Grant in the Spirietes goal.
Eastleigh threatened again from a set piece in the 9th minute when a header from Jack Payne’s corner was cleared off the line by Martin Smith.
At the other end Akwasi Asante looked a real danger as he advanced towards goal however Andrew Boyce got back to dispossess him.
Rowe had to make his first change just after the half-hour mark when Haydn Hollis was forced off with injury. Liam Mandeville came on to replace him, with George Carline filling in at centre-half.
Chesterfield both ended the first half and started the second by clearing off the line. First it was Ryan Hill’s header cleared and then Boyce’s.
Nathan Tyson was subbed on for the second half and his pace caused the Eastleigh backline problems.
Chesterfield forced Joel McDonnell into two decent saves within a few minutes. First Whelan’s effort was kept out before Carline’s long-range strike was well-saved by the Spitfires ‘keeper.
The deadlock was broken in the 60th minute when Carline’s long-throw was headed kindly into the path of Mandeville by an Eastleigh defender. It was by no means easy for the substitute though, who scored with an acrobatic volley past McDonnell.
A few minutes later Tyson came close to doubling the Spireites’ lead when he received a sublime through-ball from Mandeville. The 38-year-old’s strike forced a superb save from McDonnell.
Ben Strevens’ side struggled to create any clear cut chances in the later stages of the game and after an impressive second-half display from Chesterfield all three points went back to Derbyshire.
Chesterfield: G Smith; Kerr, Hollis (Mandeville 32’), Kerr; Carline, Weston, M. Smith, Whittle; Whelan (Clarke 72’), Rowley (Tyson 46’); Asante
Unused Substitutes: Dinanga, Yussuf
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