West Brom did what they could not in the opening instalment of this tie: kill off Chesterfield via a far more convincing display than when grabbing a lifeline in the dying seconds on the third round’s opening weekend. The spoils are a meeting with Bristol City next in the storied old FA Cup.
That Brandon Thomas-Asante equaliser had broken the hearts of the Derbyshire club and their fans but this evening had a different feel: from the opening whistle there appeared only one victor and it was not the team from England’s fifth tier. Who knows if these opponents will have to wait as long to meet again as they did before this tie, but Chesterfield can feel proud of their showing.
The replay was only the second time these clubs had met since 1948 – the 3-3 draw 10 days ago was the first – and it drew a sparse crowd, although 2,700 Spireites fans made the trip and enjoyed a singsong. A Jeff King free-kick from the left was their side’s first real attack. It was repelled but Mike Jones collected and sprayed a classy ball right, only for West Brom to clear again.
Paul Cook, whose team had not played since West Brom’s visit, made three changes from that meeting. Carlos Corberán introduced 10 new players from the Baggies’ previous outing, a 3-2 win at Luton, which illustrated that Friday’s visit to the Championship leaders, Burnley, was the Spaniard’s priority in the quest for promotion. “That’s a massive game – 100%,” he said.
The manager could, then, be even more delighted at the opening goal. Jake Livermore took possession, the ball reached John Swift, and the midfielder rifled past Lucas Covolan to the goalkeeper’s right. As at the Technique Stadium, West Brom had the lead but it only upped the volume from those following the National League side, whose fun night out was led by an enthusiastic drummer.
The fare, though, could not have been be billed as top-drawer; Grady Diangana’s surge along the right wing was followed by a step inside and him hammering a cross straight out of play. Better was his dash into Chesterfield’s area to meet Tom Rogic’s cute pass: only Covolan’s reflexes in parrying low down kept the score at 1-0.
A Chesterfield sequence that featured Armando Dobra finding Bailey Clements, whose ball in from the left had to be punched out by David Button, offered encouragement. As did a Liam Mandeville cross which Semi Ajayi had to head out moments later, plus a Dobra foray into the West Brom area: if the two-goal hero of the first match had not stayed on his feet when challenged, the referee, Tim Robinson, might have pointed to the penalty spot. Even so, when the players strolled off for the break Cook could credibly inform his men that the upset remained on.
“Chesterfield, lalala, Chesterfield, lalala,” was the greeting for those in green when the minnows began attacking the end where the singers congregated. West Brom, though, silenced them instantly. A ball in from Adam Reach came to King and he committed a serious howler: for an unfathomable reason he backheeled it across the area straight to Tom Rogic, who scooped the ball past Covolan. “To concede a second goal like that killed us,” said Cook.
The knockout blow soon followed. After a Swift free-kick was palmed over by Covolan for a corner the same player dinked in the set piece from the left. The ball reached Livermore in space, and he smashed it into the net.
Elijah Adebayo scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner as Luton advanced to round four with a 2-1 victory at Wigan.
Extra-time was on the cards after Cauley Woodrow quickly cancelled out Thelo Aasgaard’s second-half opener but Adebayo pounced from close range at the death.
Sam Bell scored a superb winner nine minutes from the end of extra time for Bristol City to win 2-1 at Swansea. The Robins substitute cut in from the left and fired past goalkeeper Andy Fisher to settle the replay and reward his club with a home tie against West Brom. It was 20-year-old Bell’s first senior goal for the club.
Mark Sykes’ third goal in two games had put Bristol City ahead against the run of play with a composed finish after a slick move just past the hour, but Swans substitute Ollie Cooper levelled the scores in the 73rd minute, seconds after coming on.
Birmingham produced a second-half comeback to avoid an upset with a 2-1 win at Forest Green. Goals from Lukas Jutkiewicz and Kevin Long sent Birmingham through despite a scare from League One’s bottom club after Ben Stevenson's early goal.
Accrington's FA Cup third-round replay with Boreham Wood was postponed after an inspection deemed the surface "unplayable".
“Three-nil on the big day out,” was the jocular ditty the travelling fans met this with. Swift, the one survivor from the win at Luton, was immediately taken off. Those in the away end could cheer a rare corner that had Jamie Grimes lurking but the chance for their captain to pull the trigger never arrived. Chesterfield ended by going close to a consolation: Ryheem Sheckleford crashed the ball past Button but not his bar before Jovan Malcolm made it 4-0.
Corberán said: “It’s a positive result and continuing in the FA Cup is important.” But Matt Phillips, who came on as a substitute, injured a quad and the manager suggested he will miss the match against Burnley. “We have to find a solution,” Corberán said of his first-choice midfielder.
