Chesterfield cruised to a comfortable 4-1 win over Fulham at Saltergate this afternoon that has badly damaged the Whites’ promotion hopes.
Ray Lewington’s side travelled to Derbyshire hoping for a New Year’s Eve victory that would have strengthened their position amongst the promotion chasers in the Third Division but were swept aside by a spirited showing from their bottom-of-the-table hosts. The Spireites delighted with new manager Paul Hart with a dominant display that underlined his side that his new charges are in a false position.
The strugglers took a surprise lead in the tenth minute when defender Tony Brien punished poor Fulham marking at Kevin Eley’s corner by heading home after a flick on from Lee Rogers. It was Briend’s first goal since signing from Leicester City in a deal worth a reported £90,000. Hart’s men doubled their advantage five minutes before the break when Bob Bloomer blasted home a penalty awarded when Jim Stannard brought down Andy Morris after the forward had latched onto an awful back pass from Jeff Eckhardt.
Fulham’s hopes of a recovery flickered briefly two minutes after half-time when Clive Walker’s free-kick deflected off the Chesterfield wall and left goalkeeper Steve Cherry completely wrong-footed. But Bloomer scored his second of the afternoon within sixty seconds of that setback, producing a classy curling free-kick of his own to restore Chesterfield’s two-goal cushion. Young striker Gavin McDonald came off the bench to score his first senior goal from close range, converting a downward header from Morris, to make it 4-1 with six minutes left.
CHESTERFIELD: Cherry; Hewitt, Prindiville, Shaw, Brien, Rogers, Eley, Alleyne (McDonald 60), Waller, Bloomer, Morris. Subs (not used): Henderson.
BOOKED: Prindiville, Hewitt.
GOALS: Brien (10), Bloomer (pen 40, 48), McDonald (84).
FULHAM: Stannard; Cawley, Eckhardt, Thomas, Elkins, Marshall, Scott, Barnett (Sayer 61), Walker, Cole, Davies. Subs (not used): Skinner.
BOOKED: Elkins, Cawley, Sayer, Stannard.
GOAL: Walker (47).
REFEREE: Alan Wilkie (County Durham).
ATTENDANCE: 3,086.
