Matt equal to his tall task

NO YOU DON’T: Athletic central defender Zander Diamond ensures the threat from Drew Talbot is snuffed out.

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Chesterfield 1, Athletic 1
Big striker grabs chance as boss rings changes
THE unexpeted abounded within Chesterfield’s unsullied arena, as Athletic manager Paul Dickov unveiled a new strand of logic in selecting his team.

Old favourites – literally, in the shape of veteran striker Shefki Kuqi – were temporarily jettisoned in favour of like-for-like swaps such as Matt Smith, who broke a run of 27 successive fixtures in which he had been selected as a potential replacement on the substitutes’ bench.

Also left on the sidelines on a surprising team sheet were Jean-Yves Mvoto, Josh Parker and Lucas Scapuzzi, all nursing minor knocks, while returning link man Robbie Simpson was a hush-hush selection to provide the bridge between midfield and attack in a first-ever visit to the new B2net Stadium.

The news of the Huddersfield Town man’s return, initially on loan for the time being, was only broken an hour before kick-off so as not to hand Chesterfield the nod.

In fairness, though, an expert in cipher wasn’t needed to crack the code that the popular Simpson was always heading back Athletic’s way once the transfer window was open again.

If Dickov’s selection was something of an experiment in team chemistry, it at the very least provided plenty of whizzes and bangs.

This was a clash as far from a potentially-dour duel, between a side bottom of npower League One and another with at least half an eye on a massive cup tie at Liverpool, as was possible.

Jordan Bowery opened the scoring for Chesterfield with a finely-tuned volley after Alexandre Mendy had provided the twists and turns in a sashay downfield which left disoriented Paul Black not knowing which day tomorrow is.

And Smith’s equaliser in first-half injury time, a classic goal for a six-feet-seven striker in that only a poisoned arrow could have felled him when rising to convert a clipped and accurate Filipe Morais cross, brought things level.

There was so much more to this wonderfully frantic game than the two goals.

From an Athletic perspective, the manager will have had his impression reinforced that Smith can be a very useful weapon at this level.

Aside from his goal, the big striker almost won a second-half penalty when tangling with Neal Trotman in the area.

A more professionally-mature Smith may have cut back across Trotman’s path before inevitable contact to send an irrefutable message that a decision had to be made in his favour.

As it was, referee Darren Deadman did as he did when Simpson had appeared to be pushed in the back when climbing for a first-half header, in keeping the whistle away from his lips.

Chris Taylor also showed up to the party, constantly involving himself and forcing Spireites goalkeeper Tommy Lee into action on a number of occasions.

If Lee showed impressive agility to push out Taylor’s first-half shot, he took it to another level in stopping Tom Adeyemi’s side-footed effort from close range after the break.

The band of 914 fans following Athletic’s fortunes behind the goal must have wished John Sheridan had kept hold of Ole Soderberg, the ’keeper who let in five the last time the sides met at Boundary Park.

It wasn’t all one-way traffic. Chesterfield may be without a win since September, but they attack with pace and belief.

Former Athletic midfielder Danny Whitaker produced a stunning diving stop from Alex Cisak with a 25-yard piledriver four minutes into the second half and replacement forward Scott Boden had a glorious chance to seal victory inside the final 30 seconds of injury time. His header was poorly directed and made simple work for Cisak.

Chesterfield started the better. Drew Talbot drove wastefully wide before Athletic began to find their feet, Taylor unable to wrap his left foot around a shot at Lee.

Bowery’s goal came from a run from halfway and a teasing cross from Mendy, giving Sheridan’s men a lead which only served to invigorate Dickov’s men.

It was a surprise that Smith’s equaliser took so long to arrive, with Furman and Taylor both forcing excellent diving stops from Lee.

Athletic had to cope with a strong restart from the home team.

After Whitaker’s howitzer and Smith’s penalty claim, Kieran Lee had a heart-in-mouth moment, diverting Talbot’s cross a foot wide of his own post.

Spireites captain Trotman then retired, briefly, to the blood bin after a challenge from Simpson he was clearly unhappy with.

The bursting Adeyemi was unfortunate to find Lee in such tip-top form, Zander Diamond tangled with Nathan Smith at the other end inside the area with home fans calling for a penalty kick, and Simpson and Boden exchanged shots as the game finished in exciting, end-to-end fashion.

Substitute Scapuzzi fired narrowly wide, Taylor forced another low stop from Lee and Boden wasted a great chance prior to the catching of breath come the final whistle.