Spalding Ladies’ 1st 2 Ipswich Ladies’ 2nd 4
Ipswich took an early lead, putting immediate pressure on the home side.
Spalding responded well, with Hennie Boekestyn showing great awareness and determination to intercept the ball high up the pitch and calmly slot it home to bring the scores level.
Ipswich soon regained the lead, converting a short corner to make it 2-1.
Spalding continued to push forward and were rewarded with a superb goal.
Charlotte Maplethorpe made an excellent driving run into the D before squaring the ball to Georgina Maplethorpe, who buried the ball into the net.
Ipswich, however, struck just before half time to edge back in front. 3-2 at the break.
The second half saw Ipswich score early, extending their lead to 4-2.
Despite Spalding’s efforts and attacking intent, they were unable to find a way back into the game.
A standout performance came from goalkeeper Freya Lee, making countless crucial saves to keep Spalding in the contest. Pictures by Nigel Cookson.
Spalding Ladies’ 2nd 1 Cambridge South 3rd 1
Spalding Ladies’ 2nd put in an impressive and determined performance to hold league leaders Cambridge South 3s to a 1-1 draw in an exciting, hard-fought encounter.
From the first whistle, Spalding were right in the game, producing a strong opening pushback.
The intensity was clear early on as Spalding applied consistent pressure, refusing to allow Cambridge time or space to settle.
The first half saw some beautiful open play from Spalding, with quick, sharp passing moving the ball confidently through midfield.
Kate Amess and Kelly Tizzano both came close from open play, firing shots just wide.
Spalding continued to press and were rewarded when Amy Naylor won a short corner.
Although the initial corner was not converted, Spalding reacted quickly, earning a second short corner almost immediately.
This time, a lovely sequence of passing opened up the Cambridge defence, allowing Steph Wilson to slot home a wonderful finish to give Spalding a deserved 1-0 lead going into half time.
The second half saw Spalding come out determined to maintain their advantage.
Defensive discipline and teamwork were key as Cambridge pushed forward in search of an equaliser.
Cambridge eventually earned their first short corner, quickly followed by their second and managed to fire a hard strike past the Spalding defence to level the score.
Undeterred, Spalding continued to play with confidence and grit, battling for every ball and fighting right to the final whistle.
Spalding Ladies’ 3rd 2 Wisbech 1
The game started fairly evenly, with Spalding showing a strong defence and not allowing any Wisbech players to break through.
Spalding broke the deadlock in the 13th minute with a great build-up of passing from Georgina Gray to Kiki Timmins, then down the line to Jessica Pilgrim.
Pilgrim got around her player and passed the ball into the D, where Sam Foston managed to slip it past the keeper.
As the game went on, Wisbech stepped up their pressure and had a few runs into the D, but strong defending from Megan Wright and Lily Hooker, along with crucial saves from goalkeeper Anya Knights, kept the ball out of the goal.
Spalding were awarded a penalty corner on the final whistle of the first half and, after being re-awarded several PCs, a pass at the top of the D found Timmins, who struck cleanly into the top corner to give Spalding a 2-0 lead at half time.
Spalding came out strongly in the second half.
In the 39th minute, Foston received a green card, leaving Spalding short for two minutes.
However, the Spalding midfield stood strong, linking well through Lucy Wilson and Zoe Moore and Terri Robinson out to Eloise Doughty and Pilgrim on the wings.
Jess Worth and Khloe Brewster both had chances on goal but were unable to convert.
Wisbech continued to move the ball well and, in the 58th minute, pulled a goal back.
In the final minutes, Knights made a brilliant save to keep Spalding in the lead.
Spalding Men’s 1st 7 Newmarket 1st 1
Spalding looked to gain the advantage early, however, facing stiff opposition, the home team struggled to get out of first gear.
Newmarket quickly capitalised on this,. After a professional foul from Harry Maplethorpe saw him receive a green and five minute sin-bin, Spalding were left at a disadvantage with ten men.
The away team quickly capitalised on this, scoring in the 13th minute to make it 1-0.
Spalding being winded looked to push back, with Jacob Baker being strong contender for miss of the season, after beating the keeper, to then let the pressure get to him.
This was quickly turned around, with both Jacob Baker and Will Baker making a big difference with two superb strikes to make it 2-1 to Spalding at half time.
Spalding came out the blocks strong in the second half. David Dorey scoring in the 39th minute and Jacob Baker in the 49th (4-1) to put Newmarket on the ropes.
Newmarket now looking to defend in depth, created plenty of further space for Spalding to become creative, after a strong passage of play Harry Walsh, fired the ball to James Grant who was through on goal.
This opportunity was however almost squandered by a mistimed shot, and if not for Dan Azzopardi, who was quietly sitting on the opposition’s post, the ball would not have been neatly swept into the back of the net.
Grant then finally redeemed his mistake, by pouncing on a strong shot during an attaching phase to push both the ball and goalie deep into their own net (6-1).
Finally in the 68th minute Azzopardi gained his second, making the final score 7-1.
Spalding Men’s 2nd 2 Ely 2nd 2
Ely City 2nds and Spalding 2nds played out a thoroughly entertaining 2-2 draw, a result that perfectly reflected the balance of play between two well-matched and committed sides.
From the outset, it was clear that points would have to be earned.
Ely, fielding a notably strong squad, looked to use their pace and direct running, while Spalding impressed with their cohesive structure and fluid passing patterns with Danny Wright and George Goode putting in solid shifts.
Spalding settled quickly, moving the ball with purpose and patience, and were rewarded with the opening goal.
A slick, midfield interchange carved open the Ely defence, allowing Wright to finish calmly.
Stung into action, Ely began to leverage their key weapon: blistering pace on the break. Their powerful, driving runs turning defence into attack in moments.
However, despite this threat and growing pressure, Ely found themselves frustrated by a resilient Spalding backline.
They did however manage to make pressure tell and equalised following a number of saved efforts.
Spalding came again and just as Ely seemed to be building momentum the away side struck again through Reuben Rogers with another well-worked team goal.
The first half finished Spalding leading 2 1.
Facing another deficit, the home side showed tremendous character and raised their intensity, with the midfield engine room beginning to dominate physical battles. Eventually pressure told and they equalised from a short corner.
In the dying moments, both sides had half-chances to snatch a winner, but a draw was a fair reflection of an excellent, end-to-end contest.
Spalding Men’s 3rd 3 March Town 2nd 1
Spalding 3rd produced a strong all-round performance to secure a 3-1 victory over March Town 2nd in an entertaining and competitive fixture.
Spalding took the lead early when Tim Amess opened the scoring after nine minutes during a short corner, finishing well following sustained pressure.
The advantage was doubled just three minutes later, with Tom Pilgrim finding the net at the 12-minute mark to put Spalding firmly in control.
Pilgrim added his second and Spalding’s third shortly after, scoring again on 15 minutes to cap a dominant opening spell.
March Town responded in the second half and pulled a goal back at 22 minutes, giving them renewed belief and setting up a tense remainder of the match.
The second half was evenly matched, with both sides trading possession and chances.
Many excellent passes, followed, with a firm defensive wall from both sides ensured no score change from each side.
A high number of short corners were awarded, particularly to March Town, but Spalding defended resolutely to protect their lead.
Despite continued pressure, Spalding held firm to see out the game and claim a deserved 3-1 win.
Cambridge South 5th 2 Spalding Men’s 4th 3
Spalding Men’s 4th travelled to Cambridge South 5th and came away with an excellent 3-2 victory after a close-fought and highly competitive encounter.
Possession ebbed and flowed between the two sides throughout, with neither team able to dominate for long and every phase hotly contested.
Cambridge started strong on their home pitch, scoring twice before Spalding responded with a goal from James Giles in the 33rd minute, leaving the score 2-1 in favour of Cambridge at half-time.
Despite being behind, Spalding remained disciplined and showed glimpses of their attacking threat.
Spalding came out of the interval focused and determined, producing a really dominant 20 minutes that pinned Cambridge back with great confidence and attacking play.
That pressure was rewarded on 50 minutes when Andy Barlow scored to level the match.
With momentum on their side, Spalding continued to press and were rewarded again at 65 minutes when Alex Myland scored the decisive goal, completing a remarkable comeback.
Throughout the match, Isaac Davidson worked tirelessly on the wing, driving the team forward, while Sam Hicks demonstrated excellent marking and track-back in defence, breaking up Cambridge attacks and helping to protect the lead.
The closing stages were tense, with Cambridge throwing everything forward, but Spalding’s defence stood firm to see out a hard-earned and thoroughly deserved away victory.
