Mighty Clarke stands so tal

FULL-BACK Rob Hunt whips in a cross from the left-hand side

COMETH the hour, cometh the big man.

Had negotiations gone differently on deadline day, the centre-back could have been lining up for Scunthorpe down in Southend.

Instead, he remained an Athletic player, captain and all-round alpha male of the side. Nobody was stopping him from racing in at the far post flying above his marker and on to a injury-time flighted cross from Aiden O'Neill, smashing a header down and in for a fourth goal of the season.

SPILLED

As a handful of the 883 Athletic fans behind the relevant goal spilled onto the playing area due to the sheer joy of it all - referred to by Chesterfield's official Twitter account as "unsavoury" - the match-winner went down as the most iconic and important moment of the season so far.

Clarke is still an Athletic player. John Sheridan is manager again and the side managed to win what Ryan McLaughlin admitted beforehand was a "six-pointer" even when down to 10 men due to Anthony Gerrard's bizarre half-time red card.

Sheridan has now bagged as many wins (three) as the team had managed all season before his re-arrival.

Athletic had to do it the hard way. But such was the strength of the defensive effort, Connor Ripley could have smoked a cigar for the whole of the second 45 minutes on the way to an 11th clean sheet of the campaign.

Brian Wilson, arguably the most in-form player at the club, was superb again in slotting in at centre-back in Gerrard's enforced absence.

Ched Evans miscued a first-half volley that was half an opportunity at best and ex-loan man Daniel Jones swiped and virtually missed all of the ball when well-placed to slot in during the first half.

But that was the sum total of chances for aggrieved home boss Gary Caldwell, who was unimpressed with some of Athletic's antics.

In truth, his youthful yet ponderous side were bullied and outplayed.

In the first half, O'Neill's promptings, the energy of on-loan Brighton man Rob Hunt on his full debut as a rapid up-and-down presence at left-back and the danger posed by McLaughlin down the right of a front three had Sheridan's side in the ascendancy.

Sheridan threw in two players for full debuts - three, if you include Chris Taylor's return after a five-year gap.

Hunt started at left-back and Burnley teenager O'Neill was in a midfield three along with Ryan Flynn and Ousmane Fane, with Taylor to the left and McLaughlin to the right of target man Aaron Amadi-Holloway.

On the bench, there was no reserve goalkeeper due to a concussion injury suffered by Chris Kettings in training the day before. He wasn't the only regular to miss out, with on-loan Leeds striker Lee Erwin not named in the match day squad.

Only nine seconds in, a long ball was flicked into McLaughlin's path and he placed a quickly-taken shot from 18 yards out wide of the far post.

Ripley went down injured after five minutes and while he started off throwing the ball out to avoid hurting the affected thigh area, he was able to carry on.

Athletic pinned in their hosts for long periods and looked potent down the left. One sweeping move ended with Flynn's cross being hacked away from inside the six-yard box.

Evans might have done better when shooting first-time from a cross by lively ex-Salford man Sadiq El Fitouri and Jones slashed horribly at a cross by the same player on the half-hour.

Gerrard was booked by referee Ross Joyce for a foul, but Athletic remained in control and on the stroke of half-time, smart hold-up work by Amadi-Holloway led to him releasing McLaughlin down the right. His shot back across goal was well blocked by Ryan Fulton's right arm.

Gerrard became embroiled in an argument first with referee Joyce and then Chesterfield defender Ian Evatt, who appeared to thrust his head towards the Athletic defender's. The dispute continued down the tunnel and the upshot was a second caution, leaving Athletic up against it with only 10 men.

The supporters took up the baton to become the extra man. "Sheridan's blue and white army" rung out non-stop for the rest of the game. The manager's tactics of leaving two up front - Taylor and Amadi-Holloway - with a three-man midfield behind them indicated that Athletic were still playing for more than a ground-out point.

Paul Green was excellent in the second half, easily covering the ground of two men and defending mightily well, and the Spireites' tendency to slowly move the ball from side to side aided the effort.

PUSHED OVER

Fulton awkwardly palmed out an O'Neill free-kick after 83 minutes and when McLaughlin was pushed over the hoardings behind the Athletic goal, Clarke was booked for his protests.

You don't want to make him angry. There was plenty in that leap, one minute into seven added to the end of the contest, to suggest that perceived injustices were being determinedly put right.

IN A NUTSHELL: Athletic persevered and won a vital battle.