Ten-man Bristol Rovers fell to a 3-1 defeat to Chesterfield in Sky Bet League Two.
Chesterfield gained the lead in a hectic period in the first half. Soon after, Promise Omchere directed an effort from inside the box, wide of the post. Joel Senior was shown a straight red card for bringing down Armando Dobra, who was racing forward.
The hosts made the most of their man advantage almost immediately, with Tom Naylor looping a header across the goal and into the net. After the break, top saves from Luke Southwood to deny Dylan Duffy and Lee Bonis kept the contest level before Isaac Hutchinson scored for the Pirates off the bench.
However, the Spireites kept pushing and found two late goals to claim all three points, with Kyle McFadzean flicking a header past Luke Southwood, who had made several outstanding saves, before Dobra netted their third with a few minutes left to play.
There was very little to separate the teams in the opening exchanges, with both sides limited to half-chances. The hosts tested the Rovers' defence first, with Lee Bonis unable to turn Dyan Duffy's cross on target after a clever move.
The Pirates were starting with Promise Omochere and Ellis Harrison up front, with the latter having the Gas' opening opportunity of the fixture. Luke Southwood's direct ball forward was knocked down to the attacker, who got in front of his marker but snatched at his effort.
Confidence was high in the Spireites' ranks after winning back-to-back games without conceding to start the Sky Bet League Two season, and they went close to breaking the deadlock through McFadzean. Chey Dunkley's headed pass was directed towards the goal by McFadzean, but his looping header was flicked over excellently by Southwood.
The hosts were enjoying plenty of possession in Rovers' half and were causing a constant threat down the wings, but it was Darrell Clarke's men who had the next golden opportunity to gain the advantage. Ryan Howley collected possession on the outskirts of the area and slipped the ball into Omomchere, who curled his effort wide of the post.
Instead, it was Chesterfield who went into half-time with the lead after a manic couple of minutes. First, Joel Senior was shown a straight red card after he was adjudged to have brought down Dobra on the edge of the box, stopping a goal-scoring opportunity before the Spireites scored soon after. Duffy's deep cross from the left was headed back across the goal by Tom Naylor, with players on the line unable to stop the ball from crossing the line.
Clarke made a double change at the break, looking to turn the tide in Rovers' favour and brought on Macauley Southam-Hales and Ruel Sotiriou for Ellis Harrison and debutant Kacper Łopata. Nevertheless, Chesterfield kept putting the pressure on with their man advantage, with Southwood forced to keep sharp.
First, Naylor's cutback went straight to Duffy, whose close-range blast was pushed over by Southwood before Bonis' header was denied by the goalkeeper.
The Pirates battled well to remain in the contest and had a chance to level through Conteh. The visitors worked the ball well down the right, with Omochere laying off Southam-Hales' pass back to the midfielder, but he whipped his attempt over.
The Gas kept going and found a leveller with 20 minutes left to play. Quickly after coming off the bench, Hutchinson latched onto Alfie Kilgour's pass down the left side of the box to score from a narrow angle.
Chesterfield responded well to going behind and forced Southwood into another couple of strong saves in the final stages. The goalkeeper denied the two one-on-one opportunities, with Dobra and Will Grigg testing him before Paul Cook’s men found two late goals. Adam Lewis’ cross from the left was met by McFadzean, who directed his header across the goal and into the net before Dobra added a third from close range.
Chesterfield: Hemming, Naylor, McFadzean, Stirk, Bonis, Duffy, Dobra, Gordon, Daley-Campbell, Dunkley, Markanday
Subs: Boot, Sheckleford, Lewis, Mandeville, Grigg, Fleck, Darcy
Goals: Naylor 41, McFadzean 86, Dobra 89
Booked: McFadzean 15, Naylor 51, Daley-Campbell 58
Bristol Rovers: Southwood, Senior, Sparkes, Kilgour, Mola, Omochere (Cavegn 70), Harrison (Sotiriou 46), McEachran (Hutchinson 60), Conteh, Howley (Moore 76), Lopata (Southam-Hales 46)
Subs not used: Young, Thomas.
Goals: Hutchinson 68
Booked: Sparkes 57
Red Card: Senior 39
Referee: Sam Mulhall
Attendance: 8013 (750 away)
