Rovers 1-1 Chesterfield

Rovers fans entered Belle Vue in a strangely nervous mood on the back of three successive league defeats and the FA Cup exit at Port Vale. Chesterfield have proved to be a very difficult team to beat recently and would provide a stern test to a team that is clearly lacking in confidence if not ability.

Rovers had new £50,000 signing Graeme Lee making his debut following the sudden departure of Steve Foster, while Alan Blayney made his home debut in goal. With Lewis Guy passed fit to play and James Coppinger restored to the staring line up, Rovers looked to get at Chesterfield from the off. A frenetic opening saw Rovers return to the high tempo which had so often brought them success. Lewis Guy caused problems with his pace while Coppinger delivered several telling balls from the right, Rovers had much the better of the first half but never really created any clear cut chances. This changed on the stroke of half time when a clever move from the left resulted in Heffernan receiving the ball on the edge of the box, Rovers very own goal machine swivelled and shot into the far corner for a goal of real class. It was a reflection of the season so far that Rovers should have most of the play but struggle to find the net until Heffernan delivered the goods yet again.

As the teams broke for half time there was plenty of optimism around the ground that Rovers could pull themselves out of their recent poor run of form with a much needed victory. More of the same in the second half would surely see a welcome three points but unfortunately Chesterfield didn’t read the script. From the start of the half Chesterfield imposed themselves on the game with midfielders Clingan and Niven winning their own personal battles against Thornton and Green. Things got more difficult for Rovers when newly appointed skipper Michael McIndoe departed from the action with a suspected hamstring injury. With Coppinger moved out to the left Rovers lost more and more impetus and although Chesterfield had rarely threatened the Rovers goal, the somewhat inevitable equaliser eventually came. Big Wayne Allsion beat Nick Fenton to a cross and headed home with ease at the far post, it was a sucker punch for Rovers who had struggled to get to grips with the strikers aerial prowess throughout the afternoon. Chesterfield continued to dominate the midfield with Sammy Clingan showing exactly why Dave Penney was (and hopefully is) so interested in signing him. Rovers threatened, predictably through the sublime Heffernan but a winner was not to be and ultimately both sides shared the spoils in a hard fought game.

Rovers can take positives from their performance as they managed to play at something like the tempo that has brought about the best results this season. New signing Graeme Lee looked very competent in defence but unfortunately the midfield of Thornton and Green just could not dictate the play. Improvements were seen but there is still work to be done before the end of the transfer window. Rovers desperately need a midfield player like Clingan who can break up the play, protect the back four and retain possession, maybe then the best of Sean Thornton will come out too. A goalscorer was also missed to take the weight off Paul Heffernan and the management will be looking to add to these key areas prior to the clash at Scunthorpe on Saturday.

By Jonathan Foster