"If it ain't broke, don't fix it"… and Dave Bentley took just that mentality to it today's match, as he named an unchanged starting 11 from the side that beat Hartlepool last weekend. Sandy Moller and Ben Watkis both returned from short spells of injury to be named amongst the substitutes, but Chris Tingay and Jordan Edridge were still sidelined.
It was clear from the beginning that the overpowering wind would act as a 12th man to both sides at some point in the game and it was Chesterfield who played with it behind them in the first half as they kicked off the match at Cantley Park.
A well pre planned free kick on the right hand side that appeared to be straight from the training ground created the Spireites first attack after just five minutes. Sam Clare, Tendayi Darikwa and Sam Smith all combined well to completely fool the opposition's defence, but Smith's cross was well guarded.
From the cleared attack, Doncaster hit with a quick counter that saw Jake Handbury's stretching tackle put an end to any early danger.
Ryan Granger's lofted ball to Josh Wright, gave the striker enough space to try a swift cross into the box for Jordan Burrow, but the cross was intercepted with what appeared to be a Doncaster arm, but the referee waved play on, much to the disgust of the Chesterfield players.
Chesterfield's first effort on goal came after 22 minutes, when Handbury's long throw somehow found Wright in the Rovers box, but the ball was behind the striker who struggled to test the keeper from close range.
Goalkeeper Scott Webb certainly made full advantage of the wind situation when clearing the ball, and a launched up field kick beat the home side's back four and with Burrow anticipating the run, he almost latched on to it, but the Rover's number one just managed to get it before the striker could.
Webb wasn't the only one who was beginning to use the wind as an added bonus. Skipper Craig Clay and left back Granger both tried their luck from distance, but neither tested the keeper.
As Chesterfield continued a period of dominance, Webb's long kick again caused trouble for Doncaster, as his kick this time beat the goalkeeper and found Jimmy Adcock whose shot was cleared away for a corner.
With the pressure being to mount by Chesterfield, Rovers looked unstable as the wind seemed to hinder their performance. Wright was another who tried from distance, but again the target eluded yet another Chesterfield attack.
Just before the half time interval, Doncaster found a way back into the match and caught the Spireites off guard, but a great tackle from Clare put to bed any threat on goal.
Half time 0-0
The tables had now turned and it was the home side's chance to use the wind as added help, but that wasn't the assisted support behind their first shot on goal of the half. Webb's short ball out almost landed the Spireites in trouble when it fell to a Doncaster shirt, who proceeded to attempt a 30 yard strike, but much to the relief of the Spireites number one, the shot went over.
Despite playing against the heavy wind, Chesterfield continued to battle on and almost broke the deadlock just after the hour mark, when Darikwa's deep cross picked out Adcock who headed the ball back into the box. Burrow's fine first touch opened up an opportunity on goal, but the effort was fired over from close range.
Chesterfield's normal passing game suffered a little mid way through the second half as passes and runs were going astray, but the Spireites raised their game with ten minutes to go and created two openings to steal all three points.
Adcock was on the receiving end of a long Webb ball, and as the attacking midfielder cut inside, he decided to fire on goal with a right footed strike across the goalkeeper, forcing a fine save.
In the dieing stages of the match, Smith cleared the Doncaster defence and instead of attacking the goal, unselfishly passed the ball across the penalty area for Burrow to latch on to, but the ball was just behind the striker and the chance went begging.
As the final whistle blew, both sets of players couldn't argue with the sharing of the points in an equally contested encounter.
Chesterfield (4-4-2) : Webb, Granger, Clare, Needham, Handbury, Darikwa, Adcock, Smith, Clay, Burrow, Wright (Watkis 60)
Subs Not Used: Palmer, West, Beaglehole, Moller,
Report by Adam Hulme, the Spireites youth team reporter
