Chesterfield FC 0 Harrogate Town 0: Sulphurites cling on for an important point
Harrogate Town inched a point further away from the League Two relegation places as they clung on for a goalless draw at Chesterfield.
The Sulphurites had to withstand a late barrage in Derbyshire on Saturday afternoon, with the combination of some excellent goalkeeping, last-ditch defending and a touch of good luck ensuring that they finished up with a clean-sheet.
And, with second-from-bottom Morecambe losing on the road at Port Vale, 21st-placed Town moved 11 points clear of the drop zone with eight games left to play this season.
Visiting midfielder Bryn Morris was the first to threaten to break the deadlock, his curling 20-yard free-kick forcing a diving save from Ryan Boot with 12 minutes on the clock.
Shortly afterwards, Harrogate forwards Josh March and Jack Muldoon combined nicely during a swift counter-attack, which saw the former slide in at the near post to divert the latter’s low, right-wing cross wide of the mark.
Jasper Moon then directed a tame, first-time effort straight at Boot from inside the box after Anthony O’Connor had nodded the Chesterfield goalkeeper’s attempted punch clear into his team-mate’s path.
Having offered very little going forwards for half an hour, the Spireites finished the half brightly, engineering a number of promising attacking positions as heavy rain began to fall, without managing to test James Belshaw.
The second period was initially a more end-to-end affair, though clear-cut chances from open play were at a premium until the latter stages.
Morris was again the first to really threaten, curling another free-kick goalwards from just outside the box and extending Boot.
Belshaw was forced into his meaningful save in the 68th minute, showing superb reactions to claw away substitute Will Grigg’s header at point-blank range after Ollie Banks had nodded Liam Mandeville’s centre into his path.
Harrogate then made a complete mess of a great chance to potentially open the scoring, substitute Dean Cornelius under-hitting what should have been a simple through-ball to send March in on Boot’s goal.
The final 20 minutes saw Chesterfield really come on strong, Armando Dobra denied from outside the area by Belshaw before the same player bent a strike narrowly wide of the far post.
The Sulphurites required a couple of timely blocks and last-ditch interventions to keep the home side at bay during the final stages, though it seemed as if Paul Cook’s men were destined to take the lead on 83 minutes.
Mandeville swung over a delicious cross from the left after his initial delivery from a corner was cleared, and Dobra’s flicked header appeared to be on its way into the bottom corner until Belshaw sprang to his left to make a superb stop.
And the away goal led something of a charmed life during the dying minutes, Town defender O’Connor probably fortunate to divert Ryan Colclough’s effort past the post rather than into his own net.
From the resulting corner, Colclough then saw a strike flash inches the wrong side of the upright with Belshaw beaten, before Mandeville’s stoppage-time corner from the left rattled the Harrogate cross-bar.