Chesterfield men’s 4s claimed an impressive draw against a strong Rotherham side following an end-to-end encounter at Sheffield Hallam University Sports Park.

The greens came close to securing a first win of the season after turning a 3-1 first half deficit into a 4-3 second half lead, but a late Rotherham equaliser meant they had had to settle for a creditable point on the road.

An early Rotherham goal set the home side on course for what could have turned into a routine win, but Joe Bamford slotted home an equaliser after 12 minutes, converting a scrappy (yet effective) short corner against the run of play.

Chesterfield had grown into the game but suffered a sucker punch moments later as the home side retook the lead, before Rotherham capitalised on mistakes in the greens’ defence to race into a 3-1 lead.

Chesterfield heads could easily have dropped at this point and many may have feared a heavy defeat was on the cards - but this team is made of strong stuff and refused to lie down. Defensive lapses were put to one side and some fantastic combinations in midfield and attack gave a great platform for the away side to fight back.

Seth Close then superbly beat a couple of players in the inside left channel, pulling the ball back to Femi Colton, whose blocked shot was converted on the line by Clayton Morton.

Galvanised by this, Chesterfield were level before half time as more great work - this time down the right-hand side led to Colton having a shot charged down by the goalkeeper. Charlie Garrod kept his composure well to slot home the rebound and draw Chesterfield level.

The greens were in the ascendency and knew they could go on and win the game - ‘more of the same’ was the message at half time. And that continued into the second half as Garrod and Close combined well down the right-hand side, the latter firing a cross through the ‘corridor of uncertainty’ for Colton to convert at the back post and give Chesterfield the lead.

Solid defensive work from Gary Johnson, David Phillips, Aqeel Raza, Colin McConnell and Cole Garrett gave a great platform for the greens to fight back; an impressive midfield of Bamford, Close, Garrod and captain John Cusack provided crucial energy and composure at both ends; Morton and Nick Kennerley either side of Colton provided a great outlet in attack.

In the end, as Chesterfield tired they were left hanging on for a point after Rotherham’s second half equaliser. A draw was probably a fair result and a reflection on a very entertaining game that had managed to draw quite a crowd on the touchline.

The 4s will aim to carry the energy and positivity from this result and performance into next week’s away fixture with Huddersfield Dragons.