It was Christmas Eve, er, eve babe. In the drunk tank, an old man said to me: ‘won’t see another one’. Now into month three without a league win, it’s all getting a bit uncomfortable for us. Thankfully, it’s Christmas and – if Hollywood has taught us anything (Paul or the movie place? Ed.) – it’s a time for miracles. And if that’s the case, we’re sure the all-seeing spiritual powers that pull our strings and yank our chains will find us three points this time out. Failing that, we’ll ask Santa Claus ‘cos we’ve been *reeeeeeeeeeal* good this year.
As things stand, our guests – Guesterfield, if you will – are second-bottom of this division and are seven points behind us. And yet, this gap isn’t as wide as it once was. In a twist that’s as ironic as Alanis Morissette will have you believe, our struggles since 17 October pale into comparison with the Spireites. As such, it isn’t the gimme some might have thought it was three months ago when the Derbyshire side were front of queue for the next batch of Conference tickets. Quite simply, Chesterfield are one of the form teams of League Two right now.
Stevenage v Chesterfield: The Lowdown
The Opposition:
We’ll take more extracts from the Book of Form in a moment, but first we must deal with who these guys are. Relegated from League One last term after finishing bottom, this is the first time in more than five years that we’ve met. Not that we have any cause to be rushing back into close encounters with them. Our head-to-head record is thoroughly unspectacular; the four meetings to date yielding three points from three draws. You can assume we lost the other meeting. Last time we met, it was 2-2 indoors; Scott Laird and Craig Reid scoring.
The Form:
So, our slide in (league) form has come at a time when Chesterfield’s has been on the rise. In the last 10 games, the Spireites have picked up 15 points; 11 of which have come in the last six. In that most recent period, there has been one loss – and, mercifully perhaps, that was last week at Wycombe. The wins? Well, Barnet and FGR were two of them; both now level on points with this weekend’s opposition. The third is a bit harder to explain, being as it is Exeter. And we don’t much need reminding that it was the Grecians who beat us last time out.
From kickoff.co.uk, some rather festive looking stats – don’t you think?
The Referee:
It worked last time, so let’s hope it does again; getting out kicks from ref Craig Hicks…
P1 W1 D0 L0 F1 A0; last result: Cheltenham Town 0-1 Stevenage, 02/09/2017
The Head-to-Head:
P4 W0 D3 L1 F17 A26; last result: Stevenage 2-2 Chesterfield, 10/03/2012
• BoroGuide’s Chesterfield club profile – where the treetops glisten and children listen…