MATCH REPORT: Oldham Athletic 0 Chesterfield 0

Oldham went closest to nicking a victory when Lee Erwin hit a post in the second period, but neither side really deserved to take home the maximum three points on a frustrating afternoon. It was a largely disappointing first half served up by both sides at SportsDirect.com Park. The hosts threatened first inside the opening 10 minutes, with midfielder Billy Mckay seeing a snapshot well saved by Ryan Fulton. Young striker Darius Osei wad then thwarted by the ‘keeper as his header looked as though it was about to dip underneath the crossbar. The Spireites’ first chance came via ful-back Paul McGinn, who rifled over the top from 30 yards. Former Oldham loanee Conor Wilkinson was then allowed to charge more than 50 yards through the middle before he saw a shot saved by Connor Ripley in the hosts’ goal. The game was turning scrappy and referee Mr Heywood was forced to brandish a couple of yellow cards, with the visitors then coming agonisingly close to breaking the deadlock in the 28th minute. Ched Evans - so long pursued in somewhat controversial circumstances by Oldham in the past - cracked in a free-kick from the edge of the box which was deflected inches over the top. After that the Spireites allowed Oldham to boss the remainder of the first period. Erwin went close on a couple of occasions, while Josh Law’s well-struck free-kick was well saved by Fulton. The woodwork saved the Spireites shortly after the restart. Front-man Erwin turned Sam Hird after latching on to a gigantic punt from ‘keeper Ripley, but his low drive from 12 yards struck the outside of a post and went behind. It was a let-off, but Oldham’s Dutch midfielder Marc Klok then scooped a shot onto the roof of the Chesterfield net as the hosts looked to have the bit between their teeth. Oldham sub Lee Croft - a former Manchester City winger - then forced Fulton into a breath-taking diving save as the home fans were convinced their team had finally broken through. The Spireites thought they’d struck with 20 minutes left when Ripley produced a stunning save to keep out Gboly Ariyibi’s close-range volley. Ariyibi’s shot just a minute later was flicked a whisker over the top by Oldham defender Peter Clarke. Oldham (4-3-1-2): Ripley; Law, Burgess, Clarke, Dunne; Green, Klok (Banks, 83), Flynn (Croft, 55); Mckay (McLaughlin, 71); Osei, Erwin. Subs not used: Kettings, Wilson, Winchester, Dummigan. Chesterfield (4-4-2): Fulton; McGinn, Hird, Anderson, Donahue; Ariyibi, Liddle, Dimaio, Gardner (O’Shea, 61); Evans, Wilkinson (Dennis, 83). Subs not used: Parkin, Mitchell, Maguire, Graham, German. Referee: Mark Heywood (West Yorkshire). Attendance: 3,457 Star man: Tom Anderson.