News

MATCH PREVIEW: Aldershot Town v Chesterfield FC

After picking up a valuable point at Huish Park on Tuesday, with the 2-2 draw at Yeovil, Aldershot Town return to National League action at the EBB Stadium on Saturday.

21st placed Chesterfield are the visitors and the Spireites travel to North East Hampshire on the back of home defeat (1-5) to Hartlepool.

Rob Worrall previews the action;

Shots Squad:

New forward Lewis Walker could feature having signed on a short term loan deal on Thursday. Hartlepool loanee Myles Anderson made played all 90 minutes on his first start since August and is in line to make his home debut on Saturday. Robbie Tinkler missed the game at Huish Park following a knock picked up against Notts County but has been back in training this week.

Otherwise, Manager Danny Searle has a full squad to pick from apart from long-term absentee George Fowler.

Opposition:

Name: Chesterfield
Nickname: The Spireites
Manager: John Sheridan
Stadium: Proact Stadium (Capacity: 10,504)
Current National League position: 21st

Brief History:

Chesterfield F.C was established in 1866 and turned professional in 1891 before changing its name to Chesterfield Town. They were founder members of the Third Division in 1921 and members of the Football League throughout the 97 years since, until relegation back in May 2018. Chesterfield overcame a financial crisis in 2001 when the supporters trust took control, having to put it into administration before passing its running on to four wealthy local supporters who steered it back to solvency. In 2010, the Spireites moved from Saltergate, their atmospheric home since 1871 and settled
in to the 10,000-seat Proact Stadium.

The Gaffer:

Following the departure last season of Martin Allen, John Sheridan returned to Chesterfield to commence his second spell in charge of The Spireites. The 54-year-old is a former midfielder that played more than 600 Football League games, the vast majority for Leeds United, Sheffield Wednesday and Oldham Athletic. He was also capped 34 times by Republic of Ireland. Following a stint at the helm of Oldham, Sheridan’s took the reins at Chesterfield for an eventful few seasons in which he guided them to promotion and the League Two title, a Wembley win in the Football League Trophy and relegation back to
League Two. He went on to manage Plymouth Argyle, Newport County, Notts County, Fleetwood and Carlisle United, with a couple more re-appearances back at Oldham in-between. Last season he left Carlisle in order to take up the challenge at The Proact and steered the Spireites to safety.

Chesterfield Playing Squad:

Sheridan retained 12 players in the summer, including goalkeeper Shwan Jalal, ex-Shot Will Evans – who was the Spireites Player of the Year, Laurence Maguire (brother of England’s Harry), and strikers Scott Boden and Tom Denton. He also strengthened his squad with 14 new players. Perhaps making the biggest impact to date is Striker Mike Fondop, who joined from Wrexham and has scored 8 goals to date, making him joint top scorer with Boden.

Referee:

Saturday’s referee is Scott Jackson. So far this season, Jackson has taken the middle in 7 National League matches showing 20 yellow cards and 0 red cards. He refereed Aldershot Town’s 4-0 victory at home to Dover Athletic earlier this season. Damith Bandara and Christopher Myatt will be his assistants and the fourth official is Stuart Smith.

Commentary:

BBC Surrey Sports Rob Worrall and midfielder Alfy Whittingham will be covering the game live on Saturday afternoon. Tune in to the BBC Sport website (or the BBC Sport App) from 2:50pm for full match commentary. To interact with the commentary team, tweet @RobShot66.