​Chesterfield HC can’t build on good start in defeat

The last fixture between the two teams ended in a very close 2-1 win to Brigg and so this game was always anticipated to be high intensity and fast paced.

Chesterfield broke the deadlock as intricate stick skills from Oliver Addy found Chesterfield attacking down the right. A beautifully threaded one touch pass from Freddie Ormerod gifted space to allow Jack Hartley to cheekily chip the goalkeeper, giving Chesterfield the lead.

Chesterfield’s celebrations, however, were short-lived as a well-rehearsed short corner routine from Brigg provided an equaliser.

Chesterfield stayed resilient and some hard work from Dan Caron nicked the ball around the goalkeeper in order to win Chesterfield a short corner. Chesterfield did not take this opportunity for granted and regained the lead with a clinical but vital finish by Luke Russell.

As the end of the first half drew closer, the game refused to slow down, with attacks from both teams appearing promising, yet none of them were capitalised on. As the half time whistle was blew, it was advantage Chesterfield.

The second-half started with the same ferocity as the first ended but this time it was Brigg applying the real pressure.

Their hard work paid off with some direct two touch hockey fashioning a great opportunity which was carefully slotted away to level things up again.

Brigg’s confidence grew greater as the momentum of their previous goal really propelled them into applying lots of pressure onto Chesterfield.

Despite Chesterfield’s great attacking efforts from Ryan Speed dancing through the Brigg midfield and Cameron Taylor’s wizardry down the left, the force of the Brigg defence was too strong.

A spell of attacks from the away team led to some lovely play down the left and a spectacular sliding effort to finish off a well worked team goal giving, for the first time in the game, Brigg the lead.

Chesterfield did not let this faze them, however, with Tom Collier leading from the back attempting to open Brigg up with his range of diverse passes from the defence. Chesterfield continued to pursue an equaliser with courageous tackles from Zach Scothern only adding to the heat of the game and really provided some wisdom for the home team.

Regardless of Chesterfield’s attacking pressure, Brigg once again managed to break through the lines and with what appeared a speculative effort turned into a special goal with the reverse stick for Brigg, sealing the game and pushing it out of reach for Chesterfield.

As full time drew to close, a fiercely competitive game saw Brigg come out victorious, but there are definitely some positives that Chesterfield can take forward into their double headed weekend in the North East of England where they will definitely be looking to pick up some points.

Team manager Callum Taylor said: “The team have a week off before travelling to the north east for a double header against Newcastle and Durham in what will be two hotly-contested games in one weekend which everyone is looking forward to.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​