Match report by David Elliott at Saltergate

A LATE fightback was not enough for Grimsby Town to claim a share of the spoils at Chesterfield.

Goals from Adam Proudlock and Peter Sweeney in the closing stages of the game gave the 553 travelling Town fans hope that their favourites might be able to snatch an unlikely draw.

But by then, the damage had already been done, as Grimsby were forced to come from three goals down.

Chesterfield dominated the first half and they went in at the break with a 1-0 lead through Derek Niven.

The advantage was doubled shortly after the interval when former Town favourite Jack Lester struck, before Donal McDermott ultimately made the game safe with the home side's third.

The late rally meant Grimsby were never completely out of the game but in the end, the Mariners just did not have enough to get a result.

Three changes were made to the Town side that drew with Darlington last time out.

Adam Proudlock and Adrian Forbes came into the starting XI in place of Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro and Danny North, while Nick Colgan returned from injury to take his place in goal.

Colgan replaced Josh Lillis between the sticks after the Scunthorpe loanee returned to Glanford Park, while the Mariners back four was made up of Bradley Wood, Rob Atkinson, Paul Linwood and Joe Widdowson.

The midfielders were Jamie Clarke, Ryan Bennett, Peter Sweeney and Forbes, with Peter Bore partnering Proudlock in attack.

Akpa Akpro and North were part of a strong Grimsby bench, which also included Leigh Overton, Chris Jones, Barry Conlon, Michael Leary and Josh Fuller.

Chesterfield's squad had a familiar look to it, with no less than three former Mariners either starting the game or being held in reserve amongst the substitutes.

Ex Blundell Park favourite Jack Lester started the game looking to score against his old club, while Martin Gritton would have been looking to get on the pitch later in the game and impress against the Mariners.Another substitute, Paul Harsley, completed the trio of former Grimsby players now playing in the blue of the Spireites.

Others to watch in the home side would include midfielder Derek Niven, whose strike in the corresponding fixture last term was voted Chesterfield's goal of the season.

Town had the first opportunity of the game when a Forbes cross from the left was half-cleared to Bennett on the edge of the area but he shot over the bar.

The hosts responded soon afterwards, with Niven firing over the top from a similar distance.

The first corner of the game came on seven minutes.It went to Chesterfield but was comfortably dealt with by the Mariners, with Forbes clearing the danger.

Another flag-kick came after Donal McDermott found Wade Small in space down the hosts' right but again, the corner posed no danger to the Town goal.

Neither side had really managed to get a grip on the game in what had been a scrappy opening quarter of an hour.

Bennett was forced to concede another corner after Lester had turned inside the box and looked to work an opening for himself.The Town skipper's challenge prevented the frontman from finding that opportunity.

After a quiet opening, the game came to life on 17 minutes, with chances at both ends in quick succession.

Town had the first chance to open the scoring after a driving solo run from Bore down the left but the striker was unable to finish as his shot was saved by home keeper Tommy Lee.

Then, almost immediately, the ball could have been in the Mariners' net when Wade Small shot from inside the area.Keeper Colgan got down well and got a strong hand to the effort though, turning it away from danger.

An even better chance for Grimsby was to come when Proudlock was fouled by Rob Page on the edge of the area with 20 minutes on the clock.Sweeney took the free kick but could only watch as his shot hit the defensive wall.

Colgan was called into action again five minutes later, when a mistake by Atkinson on the edge of the area let Lester in.The former Sunderland stopper was equal to the effort from the striker though, tipping the ball away and sparing the blushes of his defender.

The home side were starting to get the upper hand at this point and they took the lead on the half-hour.

A Jamie Lowry corner from the left was played out to the edge of the box and after the ball was missed by the first home attacker, it instead found its way to NIVEN, who shot through a crowd of players and found the net from 20 yards.

Sweeney was the first of the evening to be shown a yellow card by referee Danny McDermid for a show of dissent after he committed a foul.

Chesterfield were now well on top, with Lester combining with Small and McDermott on the right to create danger for the Grimsby defence.

Forbes was fouled by Gregor Robertson out on the Town right with five minutes of the half remaining but Atkinson's header from Sweeney's delivery was well saved on the line by Lee.

Then, at the other end, Lester worked another opening inside the box but could not find the right angle with a clever curling shot.

Two added minutes were signalled at the end of the half and with no further opportunities created by either side, it was the hosts who went into the dressing rooms with their narrow lead intact.

Town had played some good football in patches throughout the half and created chances but Chesterfield had looked the more threatening of the two teams and would have felt as though they deserved their half-time lead.

No changes were made by either side before the restart and it was the home side who had the first chance of the second half.Within a minute of play resuming, Lester had the ball on the edge of the Town box but he did not trouble Colgan with his shot as it went over the bar.

Grimsby's reply was to put together a spell of pressure that saw Atkinson and Bennett both miss the target with headers in front of the travelling Town fans.

Proudlock was booked on 52 minutes for a lunge at Lester.

And it was to get worse for the Mariners a minute later, when the home side doubled their advantage.

McDermott was given space to cut in from the right and pull the ball back for LESTER to beat Colgan and find the top corner from 12 yards.

Lowry was the next to threaten for the home side, bursting forward from halfway before looking to pull the ball back across goal.Linwood was there to make the interception and clear for Town.

The first substitution was made by Newell just before the hour mark, with Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro replacing Forbes in the Grimsby attack.

Chesterfield were continuing to pose the greater threat going forward though and they had another chance when McDermott shot from a narrow angle on the right side of the area after a pass from Small.Colgan was again equal to the task, diving to his left to make the save.

A foul on Bore on the edge of the box brought a chance for Town to halve the deficit but when the free kick was played short to Bennett, the captain could not direct his shot and instead, could only watch it go over the bar.

Another opportunity came when a ball into the box by Sweeney was only half-cleared but Proudlock's shot was deflected wide for a goal kick.

Seconds later, the game was put beyond the reach of the Mariners when McDERMOTT slotted in Chesterfield's third goal after being put through by Small.

But the Mariners provided an instant reply when they pulled a goal back within a minute.After a pass from Wood, PROUDLOCK was the man who found himself in space inside the box and he curled a shot from the right past Lee and into the top corner.

Lester was still looking lively for the hosts and he beat Linwood down the left wing before cutting in but failed to pick out a blue shirt when he pulled the ball back across the six-yard line.

Grimsby were looking to claw their way back into the game and they were nearly back within one goal when Sweeney hit a cross from deep on the left.It went to the head of Akpa Akpro but the Ivorian could not get the power or direction necessary to beat Lee.

Robertson was yellow-carded for a foul on Bore on the halfway line as Town looked to continue their spell of pressure but again, they failed to cause any damage from the resulting free kick.

Small drew applause from the sparse home crowd when he collected a pass from Niven before turning and firing a low shot.Fortunately for Grimsby, the effort flashed wide of Colgan's goal.

Wood was penalised for a foul on Lester on the Chesterfield left with five minutes to go.The free kick was then played to Lester inside the box but when he played the ball across goal, there were no attackers in place to nod it into the net.

Grimsby set up a grandstand finish when they pulled another goal back with four minutes left to play.SWEENEY was the man on the scoresheet with a superb 25-yard shot that bounced down off the crossbar before hitting the net, to the delight of the travelling fans from North East Lincolnshire.

And those fans were given extra hope of an unlikely draw when four added minutes were signalled by the fourth official at the end of the regulation 90.

Colgan was guilty of handling a back-pass from Wood in the second of those extra minutes, giving the hosts an indirect free kick on the left corner of the Town six-yard box.Lowry touched it to Lester but he shot against the Grimsby wall.

Bore was fouled on the right to bring one final chance for Town to snatch a draw but Sweeney's free kick delivery was claimed by Lee to ensure all three points stayed at Saltergate.

Town's unbeaten run was over and they will now look to start a new one when they travel to Barnet on Saturday.