​Chesterfield HC collapse to hand Bay dramatic win

The away side threw away a 4-1 lead to hand victory to a Whitley Bay team packed full of experience.

Chesterfield got off to the worst possible start by conceding the opening goal inside the first minute, only to equalise almost immediately after through captain Jon Moores.

Just minutes later Chesterfield took the lead through top scorer Alex Sandoval, who finished off an excellent counter attack move. Moores then added his second of the game from a penalty corner to give his side a 3-1 half-time advantage.

In a reverse to the opening of the first-half, the second period saw Chesterfield scoring inside 60 seconds. Ryan Speed slotted home after holding off the Whitley Bay defence.

At this stage it looked as if Chesterfield had the game sewn up with a 4-1 lead. It was not to be, however, as the hosts sparked into life and took total control of proceedings. Goals two and three followed quickly, before the equalising goal arrived with just five minutes to play.

With momentum against them, Chesterfield conceded a penalty corner with seconds left on the clock, which a resurgent Whitley Bay converted to complete a remarkable comeback and snatch a 5-4 win.

Coach Christian Battye tried to make sense of the defeat afterwards.

He said: “That’s a really, really tough result for the lads to take. I think they are in shock, as any team would be after losing a 4-1 lead. It’s a huge lesson for them - the game isn’t over until the final whistle.

“A team like Whitley Bay won’t just roll over and accept defeat, I thought they were outstanding in the second-half and deserved to win. We sat off after the fourth goal and let them take control of the game.

“To be brutally honest it’s days like today that show why we aren’t in that top two. We switched between being very good and pretty bad within a short space of time. Teams that win titles and get promoted are consistent and execute the basics well.

“We are a very young side, however, and will learn from this. It’s a good group of lads so they’ll keep working to get better and there’s lots of potential to improve.”

This weekend Chesterfield host second-placed Sheffield Bankers, who confirmed promotion at the weekend with a draw against league leaders Sheffield Hallam. Chesterfield remain in third place.

*The Women's 1s were crowned league champions in Yorkshire Division Three. Saturday's opposition, University of Hull 1s conceded the fixture, giving Chesterfield an unassailable position in the league table.

Nic Wright's second team beat Doncaster Independent 3-1 with goals from Imogen Pitt (2) and Claire Cruse, while the 3s fell 5-0 at table-toppers Barnsley.

The men’s 2s also came unstuck while fielding only ten players, losing 5-0 to second-place Louth.

The Men's 3s pulled off the result of the day, beating Barnsley 1s 2-0 with goals from Adam Bointon and Rob Anderson.

The 4s put in a fantastic performance beating Brigg 4s 4-0, Bradley Duerden scoring all four, while the Badgers won 1-0 at Doncaster, Max Lawson with the goal.