Big talking points from Chesterfield's pre-season defeat to Sheffield Wednesday

Here are some talking points we have picked out from the game:

STRONGEST LINE-UP?

When the starting line-up was announced we probably all thought the same thing - that this must be deemed to be Chesterfield’s strongest XI at the moment. Assistant manager Danny Webb denied that was the case in his post-match interview but of course they aren’t going to want to give away too much at this stage and they will want to keep everyone on their toes. But you would have to think that the line-up we saw is not going to be far off from how they will start against Dorking Wanderers on August 5. There’s possibly one or two positions up for grabs but overall it will probably be close to the one we saw on Tuesday night.

RAN OWLS CLOSE

Despite the late defeat Chesterfield can be encouraged by their performance against a team three leagues above them. It was a quiet opening to the game but they grew into the first-half, took the lead, and could have been further ahead at the break. They put some nice passages of play together, had plenty of attempts towards goal, were denied a second by a couple of excellent saves and the woodwork, before conceding with almost the last kick. The Spireites can take a lot of heart from it, they deserved at least a draw, the fitness levels looked good and there were lots of positives.

BUILDING THE MINUTES

Against Matlock Town and Alfreton Town the whole team was changed at half-time but Paul Cook waited until the 68th minute to make 10 swaps this time. Goalkeeper Harry Tyrer was the only one to stay on the pitch for the full 90 minutes. It could be a different line-up against Sheffield United on Saturday but from now on we should expect something similar regarding minutes.

TRIALISTS

Harley Curtis got another run-out in the latter stages and he put himself about. You could sense the crowd were feeding off his energy and enthusiasm and they appreciated his performance. He is set to stay on trial for a bit longer as Cook and his backroom staff cast their eye over him. But trialist keeper Kai Calderbank-Park did not feature and he is no longer at the club so they are on the look-out for another stopper.

HISTORY

The crowd of 9,099 is a record for a home Chesterfield friendly and testimonial fixture. It was a great evening to celebrate the career of Drew Talbot, who was very emotional after the game. He got a brilliant reception from both sets of fans when he was introduced before kick-off. There were some memorable images of him shown on the big screen and the match was entertaining. We hope you enjoyed it, Drew!