Chesterfield and Grimsby Town went head to head in the EFL Trophy last night, but in an entertaining five-goal contest, what did supporters learn from the match itself?
The Spireites took the lead after just eight minutes after James Berry continued his strong start to the campaign by cutting in from the left-hand side, before firing a long-range effort past the goalkeeper.
Grimsby responded just ten minutes later after the ball broke on the right-hand side, leaving Lewis Cass a free run at goal and he fired past the keeper.
Experienced EFL veteran Paddy Madden restored Chesterfield’s lead just before the break after he took the ball around the keeper before slotting it into an empty net.
Just two minutes into the second half, Grimsby equalised again after some good play on the right-hand side found Justin Obikwu, he slid the ball through to Cameron Gardner who took a touch before firing a superb effort into the back of the net.
However, Berry was on hand to grab his second of the evening with a great strike after being teed up by Madden, handing Chesterfield all three points.
With that being said, here’s what we learned from the match itself…
Berry shines again for Chesterfield
Considering the Spireites were already in a good position within the competition itself, they took the tie seriously on Tuesday evening and once again, James Berry stuck out and impressed for Paul Cook’s side.
Berry scored twice for the Spireites which now takes his season tally to eight goals, which is very impressive considering he was playing Non-League football for Macclesfield just two seasons ago.
The winger showed a strong and comfortable ability to cut inside from the left, take up good positions in and around the 18-yard box and helped secure three points in the EFL Trophy for the club.
He has reportedly had Championship interest already this season and that is only going to grow as the campaign progresses.
One for the future
Grimsby Town made changes for this fixture and one player that certainly stood out for the Mariners was young forward Cameron Gardner.
The 19-year-old scored his first goal for the club with a superb finish last night and as a neutral, he appeared to be Grimsby’s best player on the night.
Admittedly, he did struggle a couple of times with the physical side of the game, but he took his goal brilliantly, looked to get on the ball where he could and put up some strong positions in and around the penalty area.
Chesterfield win the group
Before kick off, we already knew that Chesterfield had qualified for the next stages of the EFL Trophy, but now we know where they finished in respect of the rest of their group.
The Spireites picked up a 3-2 victory on the night which confirmed their first-place finish in Group G, with eight points from their three matches.
Lincoln City finished second after a stunning 5-0 victory against Manchester City U21s, leaving them on six points – whilst Grimsby finished bottom of the group though their performance certainly warranted more points than they finished on.
Artell will be a happy man
It feels weird to suggest that a manager would be happy despite his team losing, but David Artell’s side certainly made their manager proud with their performance.
Despite Chesterfield playing a strong side, Grimsby had several very impressive moments within the match itself and on another day they could have won the fixture.
Obikwu had a 2v1 effort that was saved as well as several other opportunities that could have seen them win but overall, Grimsby certainly impressed and that confidence is likely to have a knock-on effect during their next league outing.