A Review by John Taylor

February kicked off with the reverse of the opening day's fixture with Chester City in town with a poor recent run behind them. Winter returned in place of the suspended Leven whilst Jackson, fresh from his Matlock loan, was surprisingly on the bench. The first period saw little of note following an early Winter effort and a Ward tumble in the box. It was enlivened only by Kovacs' rash 2-footed tackle just before the break which saw the Magyar rightly booked. He got enough of the ball to prevent a red card.

The second half saw Jackson on for Gray and a bit of a reshuffle. Nine minutes in we had our reward as Lester scored from Ward's set up. As per usual, however, we gave away another ridiculously soft goal six minutes later and all confidence drained away as did the quality of the football. We never seriously threatened thereafter and had to settle for a miserable draw.

A week later we were off to the seaside in a swift rematch with Grimsby. We were attired in new white shorts with the red away kit so we looked like Rotherham. Mr Richardson shuffled the pack somewhat and surprisingly included Smith and O'Hare in the side. Lester was captain against his old club whilst new signing from Cardiff, Kevin Cooper, was on the bench. After a bright start, we seemed to struggle with the revised system and the Mariners were in the ascendancy. Just as at Saltergate, however, they were assisted by officialdom as Danny North lost his feet again in the box to win a penalty. Again his reaction told us he'd cheated us and Boshell scored from the spot. Worse was to follow as Gray and Roche failed to communicate and gifted North a tap in from an inch on the half hour. Shortly afterwards North went to ground again, the referee waved play on and grinned at North as though it was all a jolly jape rather than blatant dishonesty which should have earned him a booking. As the half ended, we were looking a little more lively with a couple of efforts at goal and tactical changes gave us a better shape.

Wardy grabbed a second before another dubious pen took a point out of site

Fletcher replaced O'Hare at half time as we changed the system again. Early threats were snuffed out and within 8 minutes we were 3 down as Robertson was beaten on the left and Hegarty converted at the back post. Shortly afterwards Ward and Cooper came on for Moloney and Smith. Cooper got some reward on 72 minutes, scoring through Barnes' legs and Ward reduced the deficit after good work by Lester. Just when it seemed we might just do something, Roche conceded another penalty and Boshell did the business again to end it at 4-2  for another miserable match.

Midweek saw Peterborough in town and team changes abounded again with 4 changes from the starting line-up at Blundell Park. Kevin Cooper made his first start for us. The first period was reasonable by recent standards with Town the slightly better side, but we went in at the break behind again as we gave away another soft goal with half time looming. Roche was guilty again as he spilt a low cross for McLean to roll in from 6 yards. Two minutes after the resumption, Posh went 2 up as a swift break saw Boyd whack the ball in at the back post. Despite their supremacy, Posh had an oddly niggly, aggressive air about them and were even seen to be arguing amongst themselves as well as with the ref every time he gave us a decision. One wonders what the inspiration for this tactic was. Anyway, to the football, Roche saved well on 75 and Lester scored with 3 minutes to go. 2 minutes into stoppage time we got a penalty as Williams hauled Lester to the ground. Having been dismissed after just 2 minutes on the pitch, Williams took 2 minutes to disappear and abused everything in his sight as he did so. The delayed Leven made a hash of the spot kick, easily saved by the Posh keeper and we went home fed up again.

Capt Pete missed from the spot  after Williams antics

Saturday had us visiting rural Herefordshire for the first time in ages with loan signing Lloyd Kerry from Sheffield United on the bench. Barry Roche was dropped in favour of Michael Jordan, Alan O'Hare returned to play in midfield with Phil Picken at left back and Kevin Cooper came in on the right of midfield. Lester, Niven, Robertson and Leven were all out injured. On a sunny day, the game began in a strangely quiet atmosphere but soon woke up as again Town sloppily conceded. A hopeful punt into our box was allowed to bounce, was knocked on and Moloney and Jordan hesitated allowing MacDonald to head in from close range. Three minutes later a struggling Lowry went off and was replaced by Kerry. Town battled well but the best opportunity fell to O'Hare, supporting the attack well. Fletcher's knock down fell to his weaker right foot, however, and he screwed his effort wide. The Bulls netted again on the stroke of half time as Picken was harshly penalised. From the resulting free kick, we failed to deal adequately with the cross and Hooper scored at the back stick. The second half was fairly even until the hour when Mr Richardson changed things around with the seemingly more logical combination of Cooper left midfield, O'Hare left back, Picken right back and Moloney right midfield. Thereafter we looked more comfortable and Hereford rarely troubled us, but we lacked a cutting edge and only Kerry in the 77^th minute seriously troubled Brown in the home goal. Wayne Allison's late appearance for 11 minutes as substitute turned out to be his last for Town and probably his last in the league. Not a high profile end to an illustrious career.

Clay Cross born Lloyd made his Spireite debut

The month's last game had Andy Scott's Brentford in town with 2 loan signings from Sunderland in the side. The fact that a youngster from Sunderland replaced O'Hare in the team would seem to indicate that the popular Irishman's days at Saltergate are numbered. Hartley did, however, have a decent game. His sidekick, Dowson, had an interesting start to his league career, netting after just 3 minutes 10 seconds with his second touch of the ball after good work by Kerry and Lester. After more pressure Smith almost equalised for the visitors but the restored Roche made a fine save with his feet. The game continued to ebb and flow, but with Town generally having the upper hand. Brentford's tough, physical game made it difficult for us and our doggedness prevented them progressing. In the end we held on for a 1-0 win which was desperately needed. The players will have got much from this and we hope that they can build on it in March.

Dream debut for Dowser against the Bee's

Off the field, activity was considerable: detailed plans were revealed for the Dema site on Whittington Moor with the cynics saying "I'll believe it when it happens" and nimbys concerned about traffic and parking. It's not going to be easy, but the professionals have clearly got answers to the issues. On a different front we got Scott Sellars in to replace Alan Knill as assistant boss whilst, as mentioned earlier, the club and the Chief parted company. Jamie Jackson joined Gainsborough Trinity until the end of the season. CFSS hosted a fascinating heritage night with an impressive attendance, but subsequently spoiled by the disappearance of a rare programme. We got fined by the FA for the Rotherham brawl in December, but the Millers were fined more because they stupidly claimed innocence. That was about it really and, to conclude, there's no man of the month this time as no-one showed decent form throughout what was a dismal month. If we can build on the Brentford performance we can make the play-offs, but if we continue like the rest of the month it will be mid-table obscurity. Mr Richardson will be hoping the former or he will get even more flak than he already has.

So, to Rochdale and a juicy away win please!