Richard Hope returned to the starting line up in place of the injured Roy Hunter as Town looked to continue their plight to escape relegation.
A lively game began in blizzard conditions and it was the Cobblers who got off to a dream start. Sam Parkin was fouled by Ian Breckin and James Hunt curled the ball onto the head of Richard Hope, who scored past Nathen Abbey.
The lead only lasted ten minutes as the home side pulled level in controversial circumstances. Jamie Burt raced clear of the Cobblers defence, the lineman's flag went up on the far side, as the Spirites forward reached the penalty area, the flag went back down again. He squared the ball to Marcus Ebdon, who beat Keith Welch from ten yards.
The goak lifted the home side and Ebdon clipped the top of the crossbar after 19 minutes. But Town hit back, a minute later Paul McGregor crossed and Hope knocked the ball down for Sam Parkin, who in turn knocked the ball down for Jamie Forrester. As the Cobblers forward beat a defender and got goalside, the linesman's flag was raised to rule out a good finish. Again Town were robbed by a controversial decision.
Only another minute passed before Town were properly rewarded for their efforts. McGregor again crossed and Marco Gabbiadini knocked the ball into the path of Forrester who beat Abbey from close range. This time the goal stood!
Minutes before half time Chris Hargreaves cleared a Mark Innes corner off the goal line before Keith Welch blocked a shot from Edwards. Ebdon tried his luck with an overhead kick, but Welch saved comfortably. As the half drew to a close Abbey pushed Hargreaves shot just around the post and the resulting corner was cleared to safety.
The snow had stopped and the sun came out for the second half and former Cobbler, Sean Parrish was intorduced into the game. Six minutes into the half, Burt struck from the edge of the area, but his shot went just wide of the post. Two minutes later Burt pulled the homeside level, heading home from Ebdon's cross. Welch got his hand to the ball, but it wasn't enough.
Town really struggled to get into the game, but on 67 minutes Hargreaves met Forrester's cross, but a terrific block from Breckin denied the Town midfielder.
The Spirites should have taken the lead on the 67th minute, Glynn Hurst fired wide from 12 yards with only Welch to beat. In the 79th minute Burt shot just over the bar from just outside the penalty area as the home side looked to win the game.
Derek Asamoah replaced Jamie Forrester late on in a bid to win the game, but in the final ten minutes both side failed to create a chance and in the end a draw was a fair result.
Editor's View
At the end of the day a point was good for the Cobblers, Chesterfield could have snatched all three in the second half. The most annoying thing about the game was that Town were agin robbed by two dodgy decisions from officials. Both offside incidents at each end should have gone Town's way, if that had been the case the half time score would heve been 3-0 and the second half would have been a different picture.
Cobblers Man of the Match
James Hunt - Battling midfield perfomance
Ref Watch
Mr Pearson didn't give the Cobblers much throughout the 90 minutes
Ground
Saltergate hasn't change much, except the crumbling terraces have been improved to avoid closure. £13 to stand on an open terrace is a bit steep, considering this is the same cost for the South Stand at Sixifields. The toilets are also a memory of the open air gents behind the Hotel End, at the County Ground. Not pleasant in the snow!!
A lively game began in blizzard conditions and it was the Cobblers who got off to a dream start. Sam Parkin was fouled by Ian Breckin and James Hunt curled the ball onto the head of Richard Hope, who scored past Nathen Abbey.
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The lead only lasted ten minutes as the home side pulled level in controversial circumstances. Jamie Burt raced clear of the Cobblers defence, the lineman's flag went up on the far side, as the Spirites forward reached the penalty area, the flag went back down again. He squared the ball to Marcus Ebdon, who beat Keith Welch from ten yards.
The goak lifted the home side and Ebdon clipped the top of the crossbar after 19 minutes. But Town hit back, a minute later Paul McGregor crossed and Hope knocked the ball down for Sam Parkin, who in turn knocked the ball down for Jamie Forrester. As the Cobblers forward beat a defender and got goalside, the linesman's flag was raised to rule out a good finish. Again Town were robbed by a controversial decision.
Only another minute passed before Town were properly rewarded for their efforts. McGregor again crossed and Marco Gabbiadini knocked the ball into the path of Forrester who beat Abbey from close range. This time the goal stood!
Minutes before half time Chris Hargreaves cleared a Mark Innes corner off the goal line before Keith Welch blocked a shot from Edwards. Ebdon tried his luck with an overhead kick, but Welch saved comfortably. As the half drew to a close Abbey pushed Hargreaves shot just around the post and the resulting corner was cleared to safety.
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The snow had stopped and the sun came out for the second half and former Cobbler, Sean Parrish was intorduced into the game. Six minutes into the half, Burt struck from the edge of the area, but his shot went just wide of the post. Two minutes later Burt pulled the homeside level, heading home from Ebdon's cross. Welch got his hand to the ball, but it wasn't enough.
Town really struggled to get into the game, but on 67 minutes Hargreaves met Forrester's cross, but a terrific block from Breckin denied the Town midfielder.
The Spirites should have taken the lead on the 67th minute, Glynn Hurst fired wide from 12 yards with only Welch to beat. In the 79th minute Burt shot just over the bar from just outside the penalty area as the home side looked to win the game.
Derek Asamoah replaced Jamie Forrester late on in a bid to win the game, but in the final ten minutes both side failed to create a chance and in the end a draw was a fair result.
Editor's View
At the end of the day a point was good for the Cobblers, Chesterfield could have snatched all three in the second half. The most annoying thing about the game was that Town were agin robbed by two dodgy decisions from officials. Both offside incidents at each end should have gone Town's way, if that had been the case the half time score would heve been 3-0 and the second half would have been a different picture.
Cobblers Man of the Match
James Hunt - Battling midfield perfomance
Ref Watch
Mr Pearson didn't give the Cobblers much throughout the 90 minutes
Ground
Saltergate hasn't change much, except the crumbling terraces have been improved to avoid closure. £13 to stand on an open terrace is a bit steep, considering this is the same cost for the South Stand at Sixifields. The toilets are also a memory of the open air gents behind the Hotel End, at the County Ground. Not pleasant in the snow!!