There’s a reason why Matlock Town is most Chesterfield fans’ favourite preseason friendly. The views are incredible, the club is welcoming and the ground is cosy and intimate. This year the fixture, which has now been renamed the Ernie Moss Challenge Cup in honour of the great Ernie Moss, was played on Saturday at 3 pm, a departure from the norm because it’s usually played on a Tuesday evening. This change of schedule made for an excellent spectacle. There were far more eager fans than usual with a sell-out crowd of 2,300 packing into Matlock’s ground.
Causeway Lane is surely the most beautiful non-league ground in the country. The ground has no end of quirks, its stands are slightly odd and uneven, it is situated snugly between rows of trees and hedges and joins onto a cricket pitch behind one of the goals. This allows for a spectacular view of Riber Castle on top of the beautiful, green, rolling hills that overlook the pitch. It looks a bit too good to be true, like a slightly out-of-touch postcard made to make England look as picturesque as possible. But it is true, and it’s glorious.
Britain’s summer heatwave of 2022 continues to blaze on, and Saturday was no different. It was far too hot even to watch football let alone play it but despite that fact, both teams played with an impressive intensity throughout the game. Matlock are obviously a strong, well-drilled side, they defended well and were able to dictate some of the play in the midfield for some portions of the match. But, as it should be expected, Chesterfield had the better of them. The Spireites showed their class and quite comfortably beat the team from two divisions below. They were even able to flow together quite well in some phases of play even though most in the squad were new additions and they haven’t been playing together for any considerable time yet.
The most notable performance was that of Armando Dobra. The Albanian under21 international ran the show, making the first goal with a slick run through the centre of midfield and scoring the second after tidily finishing a slick pass from Liam Mandeville. Dobra commanded the ball well, used his low centre of gravity to spin and turn away from opposition players and he progressed with the ball positively up the pitch using his pace. He also did some dirty work, tracking back to help defend and diving into tackles to win the ball. His work ethic, even for a preseason friendly under the scorching summer sun was commendable.
Chesterfield’s new midfield duo also worked well together in the middle of the park in the first half. Ollie Banks and Darren Oldaker controlled the middle of the pitch with ease and showcased some excellent passing. Both players alternated with the more defensive duties such as slotting into the back line in some phases of play but they both looked comfortable doing so. Banks also had a chance at goal in the second half as he struck a shot from outside the box very well, perhaps evidence of his goal-scoring prowess that he displayed last season at Barrow.
Lucas Covolan, Chesterfield’s new goalkeeper showed off why he comes with such an exciting reputation. He calmly collected shots, dealt with a tricky one-on-one situation perfectly in the second half and his ‘sweeper keeper’ style of play was on show with some tidy footwork and superb distribution. The Brazilian looked like the coolest player on the pitch, despite his apparent fiery temperament and the fact he somehow wore a full underlayer set underneath his kit in a maddening level of heat.
Ryheem Sheckleford also impressed. The right-back, who last season was at Maidenhead United, did well when he came on in the second half. He controlled the ball well, passed solidly and showed off his defensive prowess too. Although most will say Jeff King is undeniably the first choice at right-back next season after the brilliant year he has just had, Sheckleford showed that there is now a very tough competition for the position.
Also interesting was that Akwasi Asante, Calvin Miller and Laurence Maguire, all of whom were transfer listed by Paul Cook come the end of last season, featured against Matlock. Asante even started the match and scored in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Rochdale earlier in the month. Perhaps he has shown his worth to Cook and is back in the manager’s plans or the gaffer is merely putting him in the shop window to showcase him to other clubs. Unfortunately, none of us know for certain yet although if he can prove that he is still a capable goal scorer he could be a very valuable member of the squad particularly if injuries continue to cause the club trouble like they did last season.
Chesterfield’s next friendly is on Tuesday. They face a slightly trickier task in National League North side Alfreton, but if it is anything like the club’s first glorious friendly then it is sure to be an interesting prospect.
The Post Match 
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