Bournemouth edged themselves to within a win of wiping out their 17-point penalty following a 1-1 draw with Chesterfield.

Bournemouth almost out of negative equity

Bournemouth edged themselves to within a win of wiping out the 17-point penalty imposed on them at the start of the season following a 1-1 draw with Chesterfield. The Cherries were heading for defeat in dreadful conditions on the South Coast when goalkeeper Shwan Jalal parried Jamie Ward's shot straight at the feet of Lloyd Kerry, who made no mistake in the 34th minute. The Spireites nearly forced a second when Bournemouth defender Jamie Pearce inadvertently played the ball straight to the feet of Ward, who teed up Jack Lester but Jalal saved with his body. Bournemouth showed a greater attacking instinct in the second half as debutant Mark Molesley went close with a dipping strike but Chesterfield continued to defend in numbers. As the game began to drift away from the home side, they finally claimed an equaliser as Darren Anderton's looping header drifted in at the far post for Alan Goodall, in attempting to clear the ball, to put over his own line.