Chesterfield 2-2 Walsall: EFL’s Old Men Show That They’ve Still Got It
Credit: Rob Atherton
Walsall made the short trip across the Midlands this weekend to face Chesterfield in front of a nearly packed-out crowd in a recreation of last season’s play-off semi final tie. With neither team in excellent form, it was a chance for Chesterfield to close the gap to their visitors and stop the top seven from pulling away from the chasing pack as the cream finally begins to rise to the top in what has been a thrilling and tightly-packed League Two season so far.
Both of these sides are looking to go one better than their play-off failures of last season and finally make the jump back up to the third tier. After Walsall’s monumental collapse last time out, seeing them drop from clear title favourites to play-off final losers with just 3 wins from their last 21 league games, Mat Sadler’s Saddlers are on a revenge mission against the rest of the division. Now well into their seventh season in the fourth tier after relegation from League One, and after a period of adjustment and mid-table mediocrity, Walsall look primed to be one of the next clubs up on the League Two promotion conveyor belt. It won’t be an easy task, however. With Bromley sensationally running away with the league and Cambridge, Salford, MK Dons and Notts County all battling it out for the remaining automatic promotion places, it leaves just two play-off spots for the rest of the would-be promotion hopefuls to fight over. Swindon have had a wobble, but look like a side that will correct their course and stay in the top seven, and Chesterfield, Grimsby and Crewe are breathing down Walsall’s necks waiting for them to slip up. None of these sides are perfect, and they’ll all make mistakes, it’s about who can win in the big matchups and hold their nerve to the very end of the season.
It looked like Walsall were doomed to slip into their old second-half of the season habits and throw away their shot at promotion as Chesterfield took a two goal lead within 20 minutes. Will Grigg, who is decidedly no longer on fire, still has his killer striker’s instinct and got on the end of a Tom Pearce cross to bundle the ball over the line and give his side the lead early on in the tie. Grigg played over 100 times for Walsall, and they handed him his professional debut aged just 17. Still, Grigg celebrated like a mad man in front of the home faithful, which we love to see. It was just the veteran forward’s third of the season as his body begins to fail him and his goalscoring prowess slowly winds down, his hard work is his weekend proved he can still be a key part in Chesterfield’s success this season though.
The hosts had their lead doubled just seven minutes later. The usually dependable centre-half Evan Weir stuttered on the ball and had his pocket picked by an alert Dilan Markanday in the centre circle. The winger is enjoying a fruitful return to Chesterfield after signing permanently in summer following a similarly successful loan spell the season prior, and was never going to miss as he drove into the box and tucked the ball under Myles Roberts in the Walsall goal. At 2-0, Chesterfield were just a point behind the visitors and hot on their tail in the chase for a second chance at promotion through the play-offs in just their second season since promotion after six years in the National League.
If there’s one man that will drag Walsall kicking and screaming over the line, it’s on-loan Charlton forward Daniel Kanu. The 21-year old Sierra Leone international is averaging a goal every other game for the Saddlers, netting his 12th of the league campaign to get his side back in the game before the half-time whistle. Walsall worked it well, finding wing-back Connor Barrett in space down the right with plenty of time to pick his cross. He floated it into the area and onto the head of Kanu, whose header flew into the net before Zachary Hemming could react to make a save. A lifeline for the visitors, who had gone the previous 41 minutes of the match without registering a shot on target. 2-1 at half time, Chesterfield were in the ascendancy and comfortably on top, but you can never count Walsall out.
If Will Grigg is an EFL legend, then Albert Adomah is a bona fide God amongst his peers. The 38 year-old came off the bench at half-time to inject the same wisdom and attacking nous that Grigg had been providing for their opposition. An hour into the game, the visitors got their equaliser. Young Kanu was again involved, as a loose ball from a set piece dropped into the box and he flicked it backwards with his head. Uncle Albert was on hand to divert the ball into the net with a header from a few yards out, bringing the game level at 2-2 with Walsall having just two shots on target.
Chesterfield pressed for a winner, but it wasn’t to be. Despite having 61% of the ball, 8 shots on target and a 2-0 lead after just 20 minutes, the Spireites were unable to capitalise on their chances and had to settle for a draw. The result leaves Walsall occupying the final play-off spot, 4 points clear of Chesterfield and with a game in hand. If it stays this close for the rest of the season, it’s hard not to look back at this game and think of it as a huge chance missed for Paul Cook’s side.
Chesterfield have had a rough run of fixtures, playing 5 of the top 7 across their last 7 games. A win, 4 draws and 2 losses isn’t a catastrophic return from that run-in, but when you consider the manner with which they dropped points here and the fact they somehow managed to lose to relegation-bound Newport, it’s been a disappointing start to 2026 for the Spireites. What goes around comes around, however, and they play 3 of the bottom 6 in February. With Walsall’s propensity for a wobble and Ian Holloway seemingly losing his mind down in Swindon, hope is not lost for Chesterfield’s promotion push.
Walsall have some tricky fixtures coming up, but they should see it as an opportunity to prove themselves rather than a chance to slip up. They need to shake off the disaster that was last season and realise that they’re at the top end of the table on merit and more than able of competing with the big boys for a spot in next season’s League One.
It’s not how you start the season, it’s how you finish. If either of these sides are to make it to the promised land of Barnsley away next year, they need a strong push towards the back end of the season. Anything can happen, and I wouldn’t rule anyone out just yet.