Zesh Rehman and Lee Bullock both made a beeline to hug Simon Eastwood.

City's second goal had just hit the net and they knew exactly who to congratulate.

While Scott Neilson took the acclaim for his first league strike, Rehman and Bullock made their point of thanking the guy with the big assist.

Seconds earlier, Eastwood had bailed out Rehman by bravely hurling himself at the feet of Chesterfield midfielder Derek Niven.

The young goalkeeper prevented a certain equaliser - and straight away the ball was whisked up the other end to make it 2-0.

Instead of seeing another one-goal lead disappear, as had been the case for the past couple of games, City were firmly in command and well on the way to three points.

Eastwood continues to have his critics but the rookie's part in stretching City's unbeaten run to a seventh game was just as crucial as the three scorers.

His team-mates made sure they acknowledged it - and so did the fans, much to Stuart McCall's satisfaction.

The City boss said: "It's nice to see the supporters get behind him. It's hard for a young kid to come to a club on loan but he's shown good character. He's stood up to it and done well for us."

On an afternoon when just about everything went right in McCall's eyes, the goalkeeper's contribution was worth a special mention. Eastwood did not have a lot to do but he made big saves at big moments.

That is the most pleasing thing about the new model City. Everyone is playing their part. Saturday was another case in point. All over the pitch, there were claret shirts putting in a real shift for the team.

Eastwood's back four were rock solid against potentially one of the most potent attacks in the division. Youngster Jon Bateson made a seamless transition at right back to minimise the effect of losing Simon Ramsden, arguably the best defender up to now.

In front of them, Bullock picked up all the bits and pieces to allow Michael Flynn to keep driving City forward, while James O'Brien's legs provided a constant link between the two.

And up front, the effervescent Gareth Evans worked off James Hanson's aerial power to make sure Chesterfield's backline never got a moment's respite. It was the complete package for a beaming McCall.

City's energy and workrate was best summed up by Flynn. He had hardly slept a wink the night before after his neck went into a spasm and needed pain-killers to be clear to play.

But you would never have guessed as he kept his side's motor ticking with those attacking surges which have already made him a huge favourite with the fans.

City's first goal was reward for another positive push from the midfielder. Hanson and Evans both went up for a goal kick and the ball ping-ponged into Flynn's path on the left.

Pulling it inside right back Dan Gray, he spotted Tommy Lee slightly advanced of his goal and clipped a precise shot into the far corner.

Keighley-born Lee had produced a master class in Macclesfield's goal on McCall's home debut two years ago. He had no chance of denying Flynn but showed his quality from City's next attack to brilliantly palm away a Neilson blast.

Sandwiched in between was Eastwood's first key contribution as the back four nearly paid for a rare lapse in concentration. They allowed an innocuous pass to run in behind and it needed the keeper's fast reactions to keep out Wade Small.

As Chesterfield finished the first half strongly, the game saw its most contentious point.

Small, whose pace caused the odd stir, was suddenly clear on goal as Luke O'Brien tumbled in his wake.

The assistant referee eventually gave the foul - but only after allowing the striker to run five yards further forward. Chesterfield's bench were furious, claiming O'Brien had simply slipped, and it looked a marginal call.

McCall had no doubts the official got it right, even if the rest of us were not so convinced.

He said: "The linesman should have put his flag up earlier and stopped all the confusion. Our left back's as honest as the day is long and it was pretty evident he got tripped.

"I can understand their frustration because the linesman took so long but I'd have been going mental if he had played on."

But that scare acted as a timely reminder of how fragile a single-goal lead can be. McCall tried to play it down in the dressing room but minds naturally wandered back to Burton and Barnet fighting back from deficits the previous two weekends.

The next goal was huge - and the game was effectively settled in the minute surrounding it.

First it seemed that Chesterfield had to score as Jamie Lowry's precise through ball released Niven behind Rehman. But Eastwood saw it in a flash and flung himself at the midfielder to make the block.

Then O'Brien immediately picked out Evans to dart inside from the left flank. His shot was parried by Lee and Neilson followed in to convert the rebound.

A deflated John Sheridan responded by throwing on Jack Lester but the mardy substitute's only impact of note was the elbow he petulantly stuck in Bullock's face after City had bagged their third goal.

Chris Brandon and Michael Boulding did not see any action at Underhill but both were on by that point. A foul on Boulding gave Luke O'Brien the chance to whip in a decent free-kick which Lee flapped away from Hanson and straight to Brandon to lash home.

Neilson should have made it four in stoppage time but unbelievably hit the post in front of an open goal, prompting his manager to joke that the winger had obviously backed 3-0 with the bookies.

And there was still time for Boulding to come within a whisker of capitalising on Gregor Robertson's slack back-pass.

But the keeper just managed to snatch the ball away to leave Boulding still looking to open his account. It was the only slight frustration of an otherwise extremely satisfying day.

BRADFORD CITY	CHESTERFIELD
1 Simon Eastwood	1 Tommy Lee
3 Luke O'Brien	3 Gregor Robertson
4 Michael Flynn	4 Jamie Lowry
5 Zesh Rehman	5 Robert Page
8 Lee Bullock	6 Kevin Austin
9 Gareth Evans	7 Mark Allott
12 Steve Williams	8 Derek McNiven
16 Jonathan Bateson	10 Darren Currie
17 James Hanson	20 Dan Gray
19 James O'Brien	24 Donal McDermott
26 Scott Neilson	26 Wade Small
Substitutes:	Substitutes:
13 Jon McLaughlin	23 Mark Crossley
6 Matthew Clarke	2 Phil Picken
11 Chris Brandon for 19 (70)	9 Martin Gritton for 10 (74)
14 Michael Boulding for 9 (82)	11 Paul Harsley for 8 (63)
20 Leon Osborne	14 Jack Lester for 24 (60)
21 Luke Sharry for 4 (87)	18 Danny Hall
24 Louis Horne	19 Scott Boden

MATCH OFFICIALS:
Referee	G J Sutton
Assistant Referee	M Bristow
Assistant Referee	S C Layton
4th Official	K W Haycock

GOALSCORERS:
BRADFORD CITY	CHESTERFIELD
Flynn (23)
Neilson (55)
Brandon (85)

DISCIPLINARY:
BRADFORD CITY	CHESTERFIELD
Rehman	Page
	Lester
	.