Chesterfield have sealed their promotion back to the English Football League with five games to spare courtesy of a comfortable 3-0 win over Boreham Wood this afternoon.
The runaway National League leaders knew that victory would be enough to rubber-stamp their passage back into League Two, having suffered a relative dip in form in recent weeks to prolong their wait for the promotion party.
The Spireites made short work of Boreham Wood with Jamie Grimes scoring twice - one either side of a Liam Mandeville strike - as Paul Cook's side picked up a 30th win from their 41 games so far this term to clinch the title as well as promotion.
Chesterfield's victory leaves them 21 points clear at the top of the National League table, with second-placed Barnet only having six games left to play, and therefore 18 points left to fight for.
For their part, Barnet hammered Dorking Wanderers 6-0, but their hopes of promotion now officially rest on the playoff route.
🎵 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗕𝗟𝗨𝗘𝗦 𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗚𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗨𝗣 🎶
— Chesterfield FC (@ChesterfieldFC) March 23, 2024
Your 2024/25 Vanarama National League Champions 💙#Spireites pic.twitter.com/emreWnnw1e
Chesterfield end six-year EFL exile
Chesterfield had been a Football League team for 97 years before they dropped out of League Two in 2018, and it has taken them six years to regain their place in the fourth tier of the English pyramid.
Promotion from a division widely regarded as one of the toughest to get out of given the solitary automatic spot has long been on the cards, with Chesterfield going top of the table on September 16 and staying there ever since.
Supporters had been forced to wait a little longer than it looked as though they would at one stage, with Saturday's win over Boreham Wood only their fourth victory in their last 10 games.
Indeed, Chesterfield have dropped points in more matches over the last 10 games than they did in their first 31, with 15 of their 28 dropped points throughout the entire campaign coming since February 10.
However, the inevitable has now been confirmed with five matches of the season still to play, allowing Cook to begin planning for life back in League Two - a division he won with Chesterfield during his first stint in charge.
PROMOTION CONFIRMED ✅
— Chesterfield FC (@ChesterfieldFC) March 23, 2024
TITLE CONFIRMED ✅#SPIREITES pic.twitter.com/CVR0u4ckoY
Paul Cook's record-breaking centurions
The 100-point mark will be next on Chesterfield's agenda, and even accounting for their drop in form over the past month or so, it seems likely that they will pick up the required five points over their final five games.
Gateshead are their only remaining opponents currently sitting higher than 16th in the table, so the Spireites will go into all of their remaining matches as firm favourites to win, even with the title and promotion already secured.
Chesterfield's dominance of the season is the polar opposite to last season's record-breaking battle between Notts County and Wrexham, and they could yet threaten some all-time marks set in that memorable 2022-23 campaign.
Wrexham's record points tally of 111 is out of reach, but if Chesterfield win all of their remaining matches then they would break the Red Dragons' mark of 34 victories in a single season.
Cook's side have already surpassed their own club record for most wins in a season, a mark of 27 which had stood since 1969-70.
Chesterfield's third goal and Grimes's second against Boreham Wood also saw them hit 100 league goals in the campaign, and a particularly prolific end to the season could see them endanger Notts County's record mark of 117.
The champions will begin their victory parade at York City on Friday, before facing Kidderminster Harriers on Easter Monday.
Barney Corkhill
