Not to be for Chesterfield, yet as crushing as it was for the non-leaguers to concede when the clock read 94:09 at Vicarage Road, the thousands who travelled wasted no time in reminding their team what is more important.
‘We are top of the league,’ the army of 4,000 sang towards Paul Cook and his deflated players on the pitch. Promotion to the Football League is their top priority, though there was no escaping the hurtful ending to this FA Cup third-round defeat.
Chesterfield led through Joe Quigley until the 76th minute. That was when Mileta Rajovic equalised for Watford before Tom Dele-Bashiru struck the killer blow in stoppage time to deny a replay. The consensus among those getting their chippy tea at Fry Days afterwards was it was harsh on the visitors who made this five-hour, 270-mile round trip in the hope of seeing some FA Cup magic.
Yet there will be no run to follow for Chesterfield’s players. No repeat of 1997. No being felt up by a former England footballer on primetime television. If that last sentence sounds a little strange, some context will help.
There is an old episode of the BBC’s They Think It’s All Over in which a blindfolded Gary Lineker is tasked with figuring out what is in front of him using touch only. It turned out to be Sean Dyche and his Chesterfield team-mates who had reached the FA Cup’s semi-finals in 1997.
Tom Dele-Bashiru scored a stoppage time winner to send Watford into the FA Cup fourth round
Joe Quigley had given the National League leaders a shock lead in the first half with a header
‘It was crazy,’ Andy Morris, the striker who scored the opener for the lower-league outfit in that famous 3-3 draw with Middlesbrough, told Mail Sport on Saturday morning. ‘Little old Chesterfield, we were hardly ever in the limelight, but then you start going through these rounds and it changes.
‘Before you know it, you’re on TV doing TFI Friday, (David) Baddiel and (Frank) Skinner, ‘Feel the Sportsman’ on They Think It’s All Over. You’re thinking, “Jesus, is this what happens to Premier League footballers every week?” It was surreal.’
Everybody wants a piece when the Davids defeat the Goliaths in the FA Cup, as Maidstone will soon discover. Chesterfield hoped to join their fellow non-leaguers in the fourth round, but as Cook’s assistant Danny Webb said last night: ‘That was a kick in the teeth. It’s a sickener for the supporters. They’ll be a bit down, a bit gutted, but we did the National League proud.’
Watford boss Valerien Ismael was highly complimentary of Chesterfield as he predicted they will go on to win promotion, but also critical of his own players. They are a Championship club who still have Premier League players on Premier League wages, after all.
‘I didn’t understand what was happening,’ Ismael said. ‘We need to raise our level. This is non-negotiable. We did it in the second half. We hoped for a comfortable afternoon. The players chose the other way – to make it more complicated.’
Watford should have scored first after 25 minutes when Ismael Kone, with only Ryan Boot to beat, blasted the ball straight at Chesterfield’s goalkeeper. Costly, that, as the visitors then took the lead.
There were 63 places between Championship Watford and National League Chesterfield and Joe Quigley was gifted a gap just as large to score, with nobody marking the 6ft 4in forward as he headed home Ryheem Sheckleford’s cross.
The away end erupted. There was the odd eruption in the home end, too, as the Chesterfield fans who had bought home tickets made themselves known. ‘Championship, you’re having a laugh,’ went the tune.
Mileta Rajovic came off the bench to bring the hosts level with a header at the neat post
There were boos at the half-time whistle from Watford’s fans, and Chesterfield nearly added another goal within 30 seconds of the restart with Daniel Bachmann stopping Ollie Banks from applying the finishing touch to an exquisite move.
On came Jorge Hurtado for his Watford debut. The highly-rated 20-year-old Colombian had 20 minutes to make an impact, but it was another substitute in Rajovic who made it 1-1. Dele-Bashiru then sealed the deal amid six minutes of stoppage time, displaying fast feet before firing beyond Boot for 2-1.
‘I don’t want to jinx it but it’s looking good,’ Morris added of Chesterfield’s chances of escaping non-league exile, where they have been since 2018. Based on this showing, they are a Football League club in waiting.
