COOL hand Luke Beckett certainly lived up to his nickname.

Beckett is no stranger to controversy and Cherries were furious he escaped scot-free after his latest indiscretion.

The striker was guilty of a blatant injury-time handball inside the penalty area which went unpunished but not unseen, denying the visitors a chance of grabbing a late equaliser.

Beckett displayed all the dexterity of a rugby full-back when he expertly caught Cherries substitute Tresor Kandol's late header right in front of both the goal and referee Mike Pike.

The official immediately reached for his whistle and placed it to his mouth before he was struck by a bout of decision reversal syndrome. He inexplicably changed his mind.

Although Cherries remonstrated vigorously, the rhyming referee from Barrow-in-Furness was unmoved and later told Sean O'Driscoll he felt the infringement had been "unintentional".

Beckett will probably claim he knew as much about his crime as he did about the dodgy deal which prompted the Football League to launch an enquiry into Chesterfield's finances last season.

But his underhand transfer from Chester City brought disgrace on the club, and, as a result, Beckett is apparently mercilessly vilified as a "cheat" whenever Chesterfield take to the road.

On this occasion, Beckett's involvement will not be scrutinised by the game's hierarchy and Chesterfield will not be docked nine points and fined £25,000 as they were when the corrupt transfer deal was finally exposed.

However, the ramifications and financial implications for Cherries, who were pipped for a potentially money-spinning appearance in the play-offs last season by just two points, could be sizeable.

Some spectators, mostly those of a Chesterfield persuasion, will argue that Cherries did not deserve a share of the spoils while others will point to the fact that these things even themselves out over the course of a season.

O'Driscoll said his players were "a bit naive" for going in search of a killer second goal after Warren Feeney's well-taken opener had given Cherries the lead 27 minutes into the first half.

Chesterfield boss Nicky Law, whose programme notes welcomed Dean O'Driscoll, praised his players for their comeback and was again thankful to lucky talisman Jon Howard who has yet to taste defeat during his nine league appearances this season.

And judging by the player statistics in the programme, Cherries did exceptionally well to contain Howard to just his 89th-minute winner and were fortunate Spireites captain Ian Breckin had an off day in front of goal.

With the career goals and appearances columns transposed by mistake, Howard was credited with 215 goals from 36 games, while Breckin's impressive ratio was 189 in just eight matches.

Their respective tallies were nothing compared with free-scoring goalkeeper Nathan Abbey, who, despite having made no appearances, had miraculously found the net a staggering 19 times.

Cherries midfielder Stephen Purches appears destined never to score and was again thwarted after 11 minutes when a cunning corner routine ended with his fierce 20-yard drive striking defender Steve Payne.

Purches's thumping effort was sandwiched between David Reeves clipping a shot over the crossbar and Beckett twice failing to trouble Gareth Stewart, his first chance blocked by Karl Broadhurst, his second missing the target completely.

Feeney, whose pace troubled the Chesterfield defence throughout the first half, saw a left-foot drive deflected for a corner before Derek Holmes lifted a chip from 25 yards narrowly over the crossbar after he had dispossessed Breckin.

Beckett, eager to add to his six-goal tally, unleashed a left-foot shot which was saved by Stewart before Purches cleared the follow-up effort from David D'Auria off the goal line.

Feeney broke the deadlock with a cracking 20-yarder after neatly controlling Broadhurst's through ball and holding off his marker on the edge of the box before turning on a sixpence to find the bottom corner of the net with his left peg.

But the lead lasted just seven minutes, when, after Thomas Hitzlsperger's disputed free-kick had cannoned off the wall for a corner, the Cherries defence were caught napping from the resultant flag kick as Reeves headed home from just a yard out.

Cherries were penned inside their own half for long periods after the break and were counting their lucky stars when Beckett missed an absolute sitter on the hour.

After D'Auria's low drive had been parried by Stewart, the ball fell invitingly into Beckett's path only for the striker to somehow scoop his effort over the crossbar from six yards with the goal at his mercy.

Beckett's blunder looked set to haunt the Spireites until Howard profited from more indecision in the Cherries ranks before lofting the ball over Stewart to snatch the decider.

In injury time, Breckin's last-ditch saving tackle denied Jason Tindall a shooting chance at the expense of the corner which led to Cherries' penalty appeals falling on deaf ears.

After Tindall had flicked Brian Stock's delivery to the far post, Kandol headed powerfully towards goal where Beckett threw his arms up and trapped the ball superbly.

The result capped a memorable day for Chesterfield's longest-serving supporter Lawrence Gascoyne, who, at 89, has probably never seen a more cast-iron penalty and never will.