Conditions at the Raygar Stadium were horrendous at kick-off and hardly improved all match, with driving rain and a howling wind making high quality football difficult to play.

Belper forced a chance inside the first minute when Lauren Haslam and Hannah James combined well to play in Romy Sheppard who put her shot just wide.

In the 13th minute, Connie Whitham put a back post shot wide following a corner then back at the other end, Rhianne Amy-Carroll was out quickly to block when Evie Jowett was played through.

On 20 minutes, Shania Allison headed just over from a Mia Carnelley corner then seconds later Sheppard got on the end of a long throw before cutting in and shooting but Amy-Carroll saved comfortably.

Hannah Lone had two chances in the 27th minute, firing straight at Maggie Buxton then the Belper goalkeeper pulled off a good save from the second effort.

The visitors took their next chance to go ahead. 32 minutes were on the clock when Poppy Haynes turned on the edge of the box before firing a rocket past Buxton to open the scoring.

Haynes tried her luck from range again four minutes later but Buxton made the save then it was the turn of Rebecca Francis to be denied by Buxton before Whitham broke down the left and probably should have scored but put her effort wide.

In the 38th minute, Jowett found Haslam who saw her shot saved before Flo Wakefield found the side netting.

Jowett was played in five minutes before half-time but her powerful shot went straight to Amy-Carroll.

Francis put a long range effort over the bar on 42 minutes and Belper found the equaliser in the final minute of normal time before the break. Jowett's cross was dropped by the goalkeeper and Wakefield kept her composure to find the net under pressure.

Four minutes in to the second half, Sophie Hopkinson fired just wide from the edge of the box.

The Nailers went ahead on 53 minutes. Jowett collected the ball on the right and with the goalkeeper stranded she produced a fantastic finish from a tight angle.

Three minutes later there was daylight when Sheppard cut inside and found a nice finish in to the corner.

Chesterfield responded well and Tayana Dunn fired just over from 22 yards before Lone fired home from a corner to reduce the arrears.

In the 62nd minute, Carnelley's shot from range went wide and from the goal kick, Lone laid the ball off for Tayana Dunn who fired her shot straight at Buxton.

Straight from the goal kick, Jowett was through but Amy-Carroll was out to block but Belper could breath easy again on 69 minutes. Hannah James was fouled inside the box and dusted herself down before sending the penalty straight down the middle.

In the 74th minute, any lingering doubts were put aside when Asha James was fouled by Amy-Carroll. Hannah James found the back of the net again to complete the scoring for the afternoon.

The last chance went to Chesterfield, nine minutes from time when Mia Flannaghan was played through but was met by a perfectly timed tackle from Tamsin Wilkins.

So the Nailers return to the summit of the table, albeit with several teams close behind with games in hand. The Nailers are on the road for the next two weeks before returning to the Raygar Stadium on the 22nd and 29th of November.

Belper Town: Buxton, Allison, Sheard, Sementysh-Wright (Pickard 83), Wilkins, Bestwick (Haslam 78), Carnelley (H. James 67), Haslam (Worrall 67), H. James (C) (Wakefield 25 (Froggatt 83)), Sheppard (A. James 61), Jowett.

Chesterfield CT: Amy-Carroll, Borland, Tawana Dunn, Tayana Dunn, Francis, Haynes, Hopkinson, Lone, Stafford, Timson-Stephens, Whitham.
Subs: Finnegan.

Referee: James Wright