Pre-season: Chesterfield (A)

That's it then. The fun stuff is over. This time next week, we'll have a much better idea of just how far we've come.

It's the end of a pre-season in which we've looked a much better unit, although still not quite the finished article. We've been solid at the back and willing to knock the ball around more. Our new signings, for the most part, seem to have slotted expertly into their new roles. Basically, as far as preparations go, it's been plain sailing.

I just hope we can carry all this into the new season.

Of course, there's no better way to sign off the close season, and prepare for Loftus Road, than with a win. With the added bonus of seeing a new ground for the first time, before it gets its inaugural taste of competitive football when Barnet visit the b2net stadium in a weeks time.

I hope Barnet find the place easier than we did. Having visited the Chesterfield website and been given a postcode which was specifically for those of us who were obediently following the directions of our sat-navs, we made the mistake of assuming the ground would be easy to find. It proved not to be the case, as the sat-nav left us stranded in the middle of a roundabout, somewhere in Chesterfield town centre.

Luckily, after all but abandoning the car in a multistory car park and deciding to simply walk roughly in the direction the sat-nav had been heading, we passed a couple of Chesterfield fans waiting at a bus stop, who flagged us over and informed us of a free bus service directly to the ground. We didn't need a second invitation, and hopped on the first bus with them.

The ground was only a 5 minute journey away, so we had a quick chat about the upcoming season. These Spireite fans didn't seem too positive, looking to the new season in hope rather than expectation. They also seemed unhappy with their gaffer, John Sheridan, believing him to rely too heavily on loan signings, particularly towards the back end of last season. They blame him for unsettling their squad, therefore ruining their chances of making the playoffs. I didn't sense much excitement for the new season, but we wished them well, and as the bus approached the retail park outside the ground, we jumped off and headed to the nearest boozer.

After a couple of drinks we headed to the ground. You half know what to expect when you're approaching one of these new stadiums, and Chesterfield was no exception. The 'b2net stadium' was nicely built, in a convenient area, surrounded by useful commodities. The ground itself had the same feel as the Keepmoat Stadium about it, although less claustrophobic due to the corners being open plan. Overall, it was a nice little ground and I'm sure they're happy with how it has turned out. It'll be one of the better grounds to visit in League Two next season.

We got sat down after having a quick walk around the away concourse. Not to sound too disrespectful to our hosts, but who knows how long it'll be before we're back here again?

The game kicked off, but we didn't really start with the same vigour we have our last couple of friendlies, and we were on the back foot from the start. But we were always in the game, and had a couple of half chances. To be honest, the first half was a damp squib and 0-0 was about right when the referee blew his whistle. In fact, the most eventful moment of the first half was Foster slipping on the slope which surrounded the pitch, hitting the concrete track running around the grass with a real thud. For some reason, Foster seemed to be shouting at the stewards, who I'm not entirely sure had much to do with the planning process, but he did have a point. Both sides had a few hairy moments with players slipping around, and it may well cause problems at some point in the future.

At half time, it was difficult to get excited about what we'd seen. Whilst Chesterfield hadn't totally dominated, we'd given them plenty of time on the ball, and looked sloppy in possession ourselves. It was no surprise to see MR make 2 half time changes, swapping Disco and the ineffective Butterfield for Hugo and new signing, Jeronimo Neumann. It was the first time my dad had seen our new "Stevie Bennett" wannabe in action, and I'd bigged him up a little from the few flashes of talent we've seen in his two appearances on trial, so I was hoping he would come on and impress.

He did more than impress, he totally changed the game. His pace and movement were just too much for the Chesterfield defence, and he never wasted possession, always playing the right pass and making the right decision. It's still early days with him, but we could have a real gem on our hands with this lad.

The whole team improved when Neumann came on, and we began to take control of the game. We created chances, and it looked like only a matter of time before we opened the scoring. And we did so with an hour of the game gone; a brilliant cross from the ever-improving Goran Lovre found the head of Andy Gray, and his header was superbly saved by the Chesterfield keeper. The rebound fell to Jeronimo, who could hardly miss from yards out, but somehow he managed to hit the crossbar with the goal gaping. Luckily, the ball fell back to Andy Gray, who finally put the ball over the line. It was a lead we deserved.

We were in control by this point, and Hammill wasted a couple of great opportunities from good positions with some wild shooting. In his defence though, his confidence is clearly sky high at the moment, and it's nice to see someone in the Barnsley team who isn't afraid to have a pop at goal from distance.

As the full time whistle approached, MR made a couple more changes, bringing on Hume and Dickinson. Hume looked a little trimmer than before, and was his usual lively self, moving out onto the right wing and immediately whipping a fantastic cross in which landed plum on the head of Andy Gray, who couldn't direct his header on target. It was a great chance and really should have been 2-0.

With minutes remaining, it was, as Dickinson raced onto a poor back pass and rounded the keeper, then rounded the defender, and at one point rounded himself, before finally slotting the ball into the empty net. It was a deserved scoreline, and shortly after this goal referee blew his whistle for the final time.

There were some positives to take from the match, such as another clean sheet for our defensive unit, and another goal for Andy Gray, but it was far from our best performance. I think maybe the players are ready for the competitive stuff to begin now, like us fans.

Once we were outside the ground, we opted against getting the bus back into town, preferring to have a steady walk back up the hill. I'm glad we decided to walk; if we'd got the bus, we might have missed that derelict house on the roadside which someone had helpfully grafitti'd with the words "No lead, no copper, all gone" or words to that effect. Genius.

By the time we'd got back to the car, I was already thinking about next week. I don't know what to expect from Loftus Road. We ALWAYS get beaten there. And not usually just beaten, totally walloped too. But this time, I'm feeling cautiously optimistic. Surely our luck has to change there some day? We've already been written off by the bookies, for both the game and the whole season, so the pressure is off. I just hope we go there, play as well as we have been, and show this division that we're a new, hungry side, no longer aiming to simply survive, but to see how much we can achieve. I don't know about you guys, but I can't wait any longer. Bring it on.

Thanks for reading.