Town suffered a crushing 1-0 defeat to Chesterfield in the Sky Bet League One this afternoon after conceding a last-gasp goal at The County Ground.
Neither side were able to stamp their mark on proceedings in the first-half and there were very few chances at both ends of the pitch.
The Robins were much-improved after the interval and went close with a flurry of efforts as Nathan Thompson, James Brophy, Raphael Rossi-Branco and Jon Obika all tried their luck inside the final-third.
However, they were unable to make the breakthrough and they found themselves on the losing side after Reece Mitchell struck the winner in the dying seconds.
Town were forced into making two changes with both Charlie Colkett and Nicky Ajose missing out through injury.
Anton Rodgers was the man chosen to replace Colkett and he slotted in alongside the in-form Rohan Ince in a holding midfield role, while Luke Norris came into the fold and lined-up just behind lone striker Jon Obika in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
It was another huge game for the Reds who were looking to make it three wins on the bounce in a bid to move away from the relegation zone.
And they got off to a bright start with the first chance of the game arriving just two minutes in, Luke Norris sending a glancing header from Anton Rodger’s free-kick straight at Thorsten Stuckmann in the Chesterfield goal.
Norris then dragged a tame shot wide before he went closer just shy of the twenty-minute mark, thumping the ball the wrong side of the back post after being picked out perfectly by Brandon Ormonde-Ottewill.
It was all Town in the opening exchanges and they continued to flex their attacking muscles with Rodgers’ free-kick finding Nathan Thompson unmarked inside the box, but the Robins’ Skipper was on the stretch and could only scoop his shot over the bar.
However, the remainder of the first-half proved to be a scrappy affair with chances few and far between.
Rohan Ince produced two moments of defensive brilliance to break down a couple of Chesterfield attacks, before Town looked to create something at the other end.
Thompson picked out James Brophy with a sublime pass and the attacker danced his way past two defenders before seeing his attempted cut-back cut out by the onrushing Stuckmann.
Both sides were struggling to really hit their stride although both did carve out a chance each before the half-time whistle.
Anton Rodgers’ sent a free-kick over the bar from just outside the area before Chesterfield’s Kristian Dennis thumped a shot way over at the other end.
Town plumped for a change at the break with John Goddard replacing Ben Gladwin, who had picked up a knock in the closing stages of the first-half.
And it was the home side who started brightly after the interval as Rodgers fed Barry before getting the ball back, but the midfielder could only skew his effort high and wide.
Town went closer minutes later but were still unable to hit the target with Thompson nodding wide from Rodgers’ corner.
The home side were continuing to press the issue and they went close to an opener bang on the hour mark.
After breaking down a Chesterfield attack, the Reds hit their guests on the break through Ince, who found Brophy with a neat pass and his venomous drive was kept out by Stuckmann.
Town seemed to have found their flow and were really piling on the pressure on the Chesterfield goal.
Jon Obika flicked a header wide from Goddard’s cross, before the latter saw two strikes deflected behind for corners in quick succession.
Rossi-Branco sent a header wide from the second of those set-pieces, before Obika latched onto Brophy’s low, driven cross, spinning inside the area and arrowing a shot just wide.
Town were pushing plenty of bodies forward in order to finally make the breakthrough but they were being frustrated in their endeavours as Obika’s drive from distance was smothered by Stuckmann.
Head Coach Luke Williams decided to freshen things up with Jordan Stewart and Conor Thomas coming on to replace Luke Norris and Anton Rodgers respectively.
And Stewart nearly made an instant impact as he was played through on goal thanks to Barry and Goddard, but his shot was kept out by Stuckmann who was quick off his line.
Ormonde-Ottewill then warmed the palms of Stuckmann from distance before Town were dealt a late hammer blow.
Ched Evans’ cross was only-half cleared and the ball came out to Reece Mitchell who lashed home to inflict a heartbreaking and crushing defeat on the Reds.
TEAMS AND STATS:
SCORERS - Reece Mitchell (90).
TOWN - Vigouroux; Barry, Thompson (C), Rossi-Branco, Ormonde-Ottewill; Rodgers (Conor Thomas 81), Ince; Brophy, Norris (Jordan Stewart 78), Gladwin (John Goddard 45); Obika.
Subs Not Used - Henry, Jones, Conroy, Starkey.
CHESTERFIELD - Stuckmann; Anderson, Evatt (C), Hird, Jones (Dan Gardner 85); Kakay, Donohue, Grimshaw, Martinez; Dennis (Ched Evans 70), Ebanks-Blake (Reece Mitchell 79).
Subs Not Used - Fulton, Simons, Humphreys, El Fitouri.
Referee - Christopher Sarginson.
CHESTERFIELD - Sam Hird, Ched Evans, Angel Martinez.
ATTENDANCE - 6,691 (182 Away Fans).
