Evans to the rescue to end the drought
CHESTERFIELD manager Danny Wilson admitted he was not getting carried away by the manner of his side’s victory at Colchester after they ended a ninegame winless run to progress in the FA Cup.
Ched Evans netted the Spireites’ winner six minutes into the second half, after substitute Tarique Fosu had cancelled out Jay O’Shea’s first-half opener.
It was a much-needed win for Chesterfield against their League Two opponents and boss Wilson felt victory was the allimportant outcome.
Wilson said: “Whether we deserved it or not at this stage, I’m not really bothered.
“We’ve taken our chances and we had other chances either side of the goals.
“From Colchester’s point of view, they’re under a bit of pressure as well and when you go 1-0 down and then 2-1 down, it’s a bit of a blow for them to get back into the game as we’ve found ourselves over the last few weeks.
“It’s been a long time coming and I don’t think it was a classic game by any stretch of the imagination but that’s not really what we were bothered about.”
Colchester boss John McGreal admitted his players have to be accountable after their winless run was extended to ten matches.
McGreal said: “You can’t let someone like Ched Evans be free especially with the start we made in the second half.
“We keep supporting the players and sticking up for them and trying to stay positive but we have to now address it because we’re on the end of another defeat.
“It’s got to stop sooner or later and we need a win and try our hardest to get it.
“We can’t be always hard done by game by game and we have to be accountable.
“We huffed and puffed after that and had a couple of efforts but without really troubling them as such.”
Evans and Tom Anderson went close for Chesterfield early on, before Kristian Dennis threaded through a pass to Jay O’Shea who calmly slotted low in.
U’s goalkeeper Sam Walker denied O’Shea before the break but Colchester equalised less than a minute after half-time through Fosu’s precise finish.
Colchester skipper Luke Prosser then hit the crossbar but Evans volleyed home from Anderson’s header-on from a free-kick.
And although Colchester thought they should have had a penalty when Guthrie tumbled in the area, Chesterfield safely progressed.