Banks’ late blasts sees Magpies lose game of two halves

Chesterfield 3, Maidenhead United 2

It was a game of two halves in North Derbyshire on Saturday as title winners Chesterfield were victorious in a 3-2 win against the Magpies, as the hosts ended their exceptional season on a high in front of a record-breaking attendance, writes Kieran Hill.

Despite coming back from 2-0 down in the second half to make it level, Banks’ late goal proved decisive as the Spireites came out on top.

The game's first chance came from the hosts as Miguel Freckleton’s pullback from the left-hand side found Tom Naylor, who couldn’t get the shot on target, firing wide. The away side hit back with a long ball from Reece Smith finding Tristan Abrahams, who did well to make space for himself, but couldn’t find the back of the net, with Harry Tyrer making a straight-forward save.

The first goal of the game came for the Spireites, with Joe Quigley regaining possession in the final third before dancing around the Magpies' defence and pulling a pass back for the eagerly awaiting Liam Mandeville, who slotted the ball home into the bottom left corner.

The hosts then smelt blood, as Quigley doubled the hosts' lead in the 31st minute- with Armando Dobra finding the striker, whose clever pivot and finish granted the hosts a 2-goal lead. The visitors looked brighter in the opening exchanges of the second period, with Abrahams once again proving to be a menace in the Spireites’ penalty area, firing a shot over the bar of a relieved Tyrer in the 46th minute.

Smith provided yet another assist for the Magpies in the 51st minute, with a fantastic ball into the grateful feet of Abrahams (above), who tapped home into an open net. The game was back on as far as the Magpies were concerned.

The 55th minute saw the Magpies levelled just moments after scoring their first of the game, with an outswinging free kick from Sam Barratt finding the head of Kevin Lokko, who fired home from close range to put the away side level with the champions.

A spell of pressure from the

Spireites was met with exemplary defending from Maidenhead- with the hosts firing wide of Ross’ post twice in the space of five minutes.

However, this spell of dominance came to fruition in the 89th minute when Ollie Banks scored from outside the box, smashing it into the bottom left corner, leaving a forlorn Ross with no chance.