‘Back to business’ – Chesterfield have steely focus on Barnet after FA Cup excitement
While us in the media were a bit giddy, and the fans were going loopy, the Spireites camp played it down. Manager Paul Cook said they ‘did alright’ and that a cup run, alongside the main priority of trying to win promotion, is ‘not for me.’ His assistant, Danny Webb, said the celebrations in the dressing room after the game were ‘calm.’
And speaking to the DT at full-time, striker Will Grigg gave the impression that truly was the case with another big game against title rivals Barnet coming up this Saturday.
“We have got a great bunch of lads and we had a little high-five and a few words and then it was back to business,” he said. “We are not getting too high and we don’t get too low when things don’t go right. I think it is important to keep that balance. Our main aim is to win the league and we will just be recovering properly to go again. It is really nice for the fans to enjoy this day, but the main thing for us is keeping our feet on the ground and taking each game as it comes. It was just another game for us. In this league you have to win every game and that is the approach we are taking. It is another big game in terms of it being a top-of-the-table clash but we will just prepare as normal and take it as another game.”
Grigg set the tone against Pompey when he chased down goalkeeper Will Norris from the kick-off and blocked his attempted clearance before making him scramble it into touch.
He said: “It doesn’t happy very often but to set the tempo that early and get them on the back-foot was really positive and important. We spoke about it in the changing room. We wanted to be on the front-foot and to make a good start to get this unbelievable crowd behind us.”
The winning goal from Tom Naylor – his eighth of the season in all competitions – which is already his joint best return in his career –came from another set-piece. The Blues have now scored 18 goals (13 from corners and five from free-kicks) through this method.
“These things don’t just happen,” Gigg explained. “Webby is the mastermind behind them. We work really hard on the training ground to try to create chances. When the quality of the delivery is that good you are going to create chances. Nayls has been a real threat throughout the season and it is great for him to see it go in.”
No one could argue that Chesterfield were deserved winners on the day and their reward is another home tie against another League One team in Leyton Orient.
Grigg added: “It was a top performance. From the first second we were on the front-foot, tried to create chances, cause them problems, we had to dig in at times, the back four and the whole team defended unbelievably well. It is a great feeling to go through. It is great to beat the top-ranked team in the tournament at the moment. If we play like we can against anyone we know we are a real threat. We know at home, when we turn up, we can beat anyone.
We just wanted anyone at home so it is another great draw. It will be a tough one and a different type of game. We will concentrate on the league and then that comes around we will do everything we can to win the tie.”
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