Goalkeeper Zach Hemming saved Joe Garner’s stoppage-time spot-kick to help Chesterfield claim a 1-1 draw with Oldham at Boundary Park.
Kane Drummond had scored his first league goal for Oldham to secure a point against his old club, for whom Adam Lewis opened the scoring.
It could have been more for Oldham, after Drummond won a stoppage-time penalty which resulted in Kyle McFadzean seeing red, but Hemming saved Garner’s attempt in a dramatic finale in which Chesterfield also had chances to snatch a late win.
The Spireites, who had ended 2025 with defeat at Cambridge, started 2026 on the front foot with Lewis putting them in front with his first league goal since a summer move from Morecambe.
Oldham manager Micky Mellon had a watching brief from the stand after being given a one-match touchline ban for his third booking of the season.
He would have been frustrated to see striker Joe Quigley miss a golden opportunity to equalise after putting the ball wide of an open goal from close range in the 33rd minute.
Drummond equalised in the 59th minute with a shot into the bottom corner, just seven minutes after replacing injured striker Kian Harratt, to stretch Latics’ unbeaten run to five games.
