Things looked promising from the outset, as Ladies played incisive passes through Anstey’s defensive line.
Anstey came the closest to scoring in the opening 15 minutes, striking a ball from a distance that was on target but was no threat to the recently-returned Nicolle Stokes between the sticks.
The home side's opener was an unbelievable hit from the edge of the area that caught Chesterfield Ladies completely off-guard.
The story of the half was one of offsides for Forward Imogen Fowler, who struggled to time her runs against the high Anstey Nomad back-line.
In the 38th minute, the constant pressure from the travelling Blues finally broke Anstey Nomads. Fowler was put through by a long ball over the top, who then slotted a sublime shot into the bottom-right past former Chesterfield Goalkeeper Olivia Walker.
Peter Jarvis made two changes at half-time. Sophie Marshall and Kel Fidler replaced Romy Sheppard and Millie Standen, who had worked hard in the surprisingly hot March sunshine.
If the story of the first 45 minutes was offsides, the second was of corner-kicks and set pieces.
The standout player for Anstey, as was the case two weeks ago in Ladies’ 3-0 win in the reverse fixture, was of Rhea Patel, who had a busy game up against Steph Warren.
A few chopping challenges later, the game grew increasingly scrappy as both sides tried to play runs in behind the opposition's defences to no avail.
Standen and Fidler’s return to the field helped bolster Chesterfield Ladies’ energy going forward, with the former blasting an effort at goal that just grazed the top of the bar.
Whilst Anstey Nomads might’ve been delighted with a draw, Jarvis’s side may see the result as two points dropped in their fight against Sheffield FC for the league title.
The focus now switches to next Sunday’s Derbyshire Women’s FA Cup Final against Chesterfield Ladies U23s, the all-blue match!
Starting XI: Stokes, Warren, Akers, Abercrombie, Harding, Naylor, Falleth, Standen ©, Staples, Fowler, Sheppard
Used substitutes: Wheatley, Fidler, Marshall
