Martin Allen hails Chesterfield’s commitment after win over Billericay

Chesterfield manager Martin Allen praised his side’s “outstanding commitment” after Tom Denton’s hat-trick helped them overcome Billericay 3-1 in their FA Cup first-round replay.

The National League side will now face League Two Grimsby for a place in the third round, with Denton scoring twice after the break to seal the win.

Joseph Kizzi had levelled to give Billericay a sniff, though the Spireites’ dedication towards the end was the match-winning factor for Allen.

“There wasn’t a lot between us. We took our chances and they didn’t take theirs. Two great FA Cup ties I would say, ‘hooray’ for the FA Cup,” he said.

“We could have probably had some more goals in the second half when they were attacking us and we were very dangerous.

“The players have really trained and worked hard, sometimes two or three times a week and the players’ commitment to that has been outstanding.

“We’ve had to re-build with a £21,000 a week saving on salaries, so I have had a lot of hard work to do. I can start to see a little bit of happiness amongst the players, supporters, and myself.”

Billericay manager Dean Brennan knew where the differences lay, praising the efforts of one star striker in the contest.

“The big man Denton was the difference over the two games,” he said.

“They’re a full-time club and they would have been training and working on it, travelling down and probably watching video while our lads are in work.

“That’s going to change from December when we start going in during the days.”