Chesterfield are on course for a crucial win to boost their promotion push after James O'Shea gave them a 1-0 half-time lead against Morecambe in League Two.
It was the Shrimps who were out of the traps fastest as they nearly forged an early lead through Padraig Amond's header that needed to be kept out by Tommy Lee in the Spireites' goal.
Eoin Doyle missed a great chance to put the hosts ahead on 16 minutes, but made up for that by playing in O'Shea moments later and his effort was too good for keeper Barry Roche.
Morecambe were able to largely contain Chesterfield in attack, but struggled to produce their own goal threat for much of the first half, registering just one shot on target in the opening half-hour.
The Lancashire club almost fell further behind on 33 minutes when Sam Morsy's shot was blocked by the scrambling Shrimps backline.
However, they were nearly back on level terms before the interval when a rare forward foray led to Ryan Williams bringing a smart stop out of Lee.
Chris O'Keefe
