Cambridge South 3s 1
Spalding Ladies’ 1s 5
Spalding continued their impressive start to the East Women’s Two North West season with a resounding victory, showcasing a well-rounded performance in attack and defence.
Honor Moore opened the scoring, after receiving a perfectly timed pass from Charlotte Maplethorpe. She calmly carried the ball into the D before slotting it between the goalkeeper’s legs.
Cambridge pushed back but Spalding’s defensive organisation held strong.
The second half saw Spalding’s dominance continue. Georgina Maplethorpe was outstanding, running from her left-back position, taking on multiple defenders, and finishing with precision along the baseline to make it 2-0.
Maplethorpe calmly slotted the ball into the goal to extend the lead before Cambridge South sneaked one past Freya Lee, who had been exceptional between the posts.
Spalding responded immediately with player of the match Maplethorpe scoring her second, following a well-placed strike from Karen Timby. Erin McMurray finished off the scoring with a clinical goal after receiving a pinpoint pass from Maplethorpe.
Newmarket 4
Spalding Ladies’ 2s 0
Great interceptions by Zoë Moore and Steph Wilson kept Spalding in the game, despite turning round two goals down in their Two North West clash.
After a restructure at half-time, great connections in midfield were made between Amy Naylor and player of the match Camille Rogers up to Lauren Spenceley and Lyn Sullivan.
Newmarket came back stronger, winning many short corners but these were well defended by Sally Pilgrim, Lauren Pitts, Sam Maltby and Charlotte Burt.
However, despite Spalding’s hard efforts, Newmarket managed to get two more shots into the net to complete the scoreline.
St Ives 3s 7
Spalding Ladies’ 3s 2
Experience proved key as a youthful Spalding team fell to a heavy defeat in Division Four North West.
Elouise Doughty’s tireless runs on the wing kept St Ives on their toes but they were relentless in attack and led 5-0 at half-time.
Despite a stern half-time talk, Spalding conceded early in the second half but then stepped up a gear and dominated the rest of the game.
A beautiful ball from player of the match Khloe Brewster pulled one back before Poppy Hooker performed an amazing save on the goal line with a straight stick.
The hosts added another but the scoring was completed by Spalding.
City of Peterborough 2s 2
Spalding Men 1s 1
Spalding are still looking for their first East Division One North win of the season after slipping to a narrow defeat in Peterborough.
A scrappy first half saw both teams cancel each other out. Peterborough took the lead from a deflection off a defender’s stick after a game of pinball in the D.
Despite losing Ethan Pearson and Phil Callow to green cards, Spalding ended the first half stronger and came agonisingly close to a equaliser through two back post efforts, while shouts for a penalty stroke were denied by the umpires.
Peterborough doubled their lead following a smart penalty corner move but Spalding fought back and reduced the deficit when a penalty corner was dispatched by
Stu Cunnington.
Man of the match Oscar Haunch produced some great saves to keep Spalding in the game and Steve Rogers was denied by a smart stop by the home goalkeeper. Spalding was unable to find the equaliser and lost the game 2-1.
Spalding Men 2s 2
City of Peterborough 4s 7
For the second time in two Three North West home matches, the seconds faced a team that had been relegated from the division above.
In a challenging match, Spalding found themselves on the back foot as the experienced opposition took control.
Despite that, Ollie Roy found the net to give Spalding a much-needed lift.
Improved second-half movement and pressing further into Peterborough’s half led to some great passing play, culminating in a great goal by Lewis Burton.
Unfortunately, Peterborough continued to apply pressure to rack up the goals.
Spalding Men 3s 5
Newmarket 2s 3
Spalding fought back from 2-0 down to take all three points in Division Four North West.
Opportunities to score were spurned and Spalding were made to pay when Newmarket broke away to score twice.
Spalding continued to play the better hockey and Glenn Richardson halved the arrears on the stroke of half-time with a well-taken finish from the top of the D.
From here in Spalding found their attacking flair with Richardson equalising before captain Pete Wright slotted home to put the hosts ahead.
Ethan Worrall scored the fourth with a shot that found the bottom corner and Richardson rounded off the home scoring with his third before Newmarket pulled one back.
Spalding Men 4s 1
Pelicans 4s 5
Despite the scoreline, Spalding put up a strong fight against an experienced King’s Lynn team, showcasing determination and resilience throughout the game, especially with eight youngsters in the team.
The hosts struggled to convert their opportunities, particularly from short corners, scoring only once from eight attempts.
Andy Barlow, playing as a forward, was a standout performer, earning the man of the match honours after scoring the sole goal. James Booth came close to adding to the tally with a couple of near misses.
Pelicans took advantage of Spalding’s defensive lapses, breaking through with effective passing play to score at will, although goalkeeper Steve Thurlbourne made some crucial saves to keep the scoreline down.
On Sunday, Spalding’s development side picked up a point with a 1-1 draw at Cambridge South Sevenths in their first Division Six North West match.
