Ollie Palmer went from villain to hero by scoring a brace to help Wrexham secure a 2-0 win at National League promotion rivals Chesterfield.

In front of a crowd of 7,854, Palmer missed a glorious opportunity to put Wrexham ahead early in the second half when he somehow blazed over from six yards.

However, the striker made amends in the 58th minute when he headed home after Chesterfield goalkeeper Scott Loach had initially saved from Jordan Davies.

Palmer doubled Wrexham’s lead 10 minutes later when he tapped home on the line.

Wrexham keeper Rob Lainton denied Akwasi Asante twice and also stopped Tom Whelan from scoring to keep Chesterfield at bay, while also producing a fantastic stop to thwart the latter in between Palmer’s efforts.

The win lifted Wrexham into fifth place, three points behind Chesterfield in second, who remained six points behind Stockport after suffering back-to-back home defeats.