Dreams of a big FA Cup tie against a Football League side were over virtually before they had begun for Spalding United.
The Tulips travelled to National League North leaders South Shields on Saturday, knowing they were just 90 minutes away from a potential money-spinning tie in the first round proper.
However, within 19 minutes of the match starting, their hopes were crushed as they found themselves three goals behind. Another strike two minutes into the second half completed a comfortable 4-0 win for the Tyneside team.
Jimmy Dean’s team had a pre-match boost with leading scorer Jack Roberts taking his place in the starting line-up after recovering quicker than expected from injury.
That was where the good news ended though for the Tulips. The hosts went ahead with an overhead kick from Paul Blackett after seven minutes that goalkeeper James Dadge fumbled over the line.
They doubled that lead after 15 minutes when the visitors gave the ball away in midfield and Caden Kell’s shot went through Northampton Town loanee Dadge’s dive.
Blackett made it three after 19 minutes with another shot under the exposed Tulips goalkeeper and the fourth came from Cedwyn Scott when Shields were left with men spare at the back post.
Manager Dean was disappointed that his team seemed to have frozen on the big occasion.
“I thought it was over before it started at 3-0 down in 19 minutes,” he said.
“The first two goals were down to individual errors, and for the third Dadge has got to do better. He’s got to save those and he’ll know that. It’s all part of the journey for him but he’s only a young kid.
“That wasn’t the big problem today though. Too many of our players were overawed by the size of the game and were rabbits in the headlights.
“I’ve got to hold my hands up, part was my fault too. I made some ambitious calls to people and they haven’t worked out how I wanted them to. Tactically we didn’t apply ourselves properly.
“We’ve spent a week talking and working in the way we approach the game but we played right into their hands.”
Dean was fulsome in his praise for the full-time hosts and said they had done a really good job.
“They were superb; a real mixture of experience and energy, and they play the game the way any neutral would want it to be played.
“Full credit to South Shields but from our perspective we’ve got to do better.
“The early goals killed us completely. We thought we could get something from set-pieces and their goalkeeper dropped a couple but we weren’t there to capitalise.
“We’ve all, staff included, had a lesson and now have to move on from that.”
Dean refused to be down-hearted though and insisted one bad result did not make his team a poor one.
“We mustn’t forget we’ve played two Step Two sides on the way to get here and beaten them both comfortably. We’ve just played a team who are very good.”
The Tulips only had to wait three days to get the defeat out of their system as they returned to Southern League action on Tuesday evening with a 4-1 success at Bishop’s Stortford. It was Dean’s men’s first league match for three weeks and their tenth away game in a row following the delayed work on the pitch at the Sir Halley Stewart Field.
A foul on Bart Cybulski allowed Dan Lawlor to score from the penalty spot before Cybulski shot into the far corner of the net to make it 2-0 at the break.
Yusifu Ceesay headed in the third from close range before Roberts won the ball off a defender and rounded the goalkeeper to score against his former club, who hit a late consolation. The win pushed the Tulips up to second in the table.
Tulips v South Shields: Dadge, Sembie-Ferris, Bondswell, Moore, Johnson, Bendle, J Roberts, Thompson, Cybulski, Sani, Ceesay. Subs: Jones, A Roberts, Lawlor, Blythe, Hart, Nicholson, McCammon. Attendance: 1,526.
Tulips v Stortford: Dadge, Hart, Blythe, Moore, Johnson, Lawlor, J Roberts, Bendle, Sembie-Ferris, Cybulski, Ceesay. Subs: Jones, Sani, Thompson, White, Nicholson.
Attendance: 289.
