Spalding and District Walking Football Club have been invited to play in a host of matches and tournaments across the East of England over the next few months.
The team, who have been running since the beginning of 2018, train twice weekly with their coach Holly Barrett from Give It Some Fizz – Fitness, Sports and Education.
Last weekend saw their first set of friendly matches against well-established and Cambridgeshire county champions Wisbech Spitfires Walking FC.
Both teams brought two five-a-side teams to play in a round robin style tournament held at Wisbech Town FC.
The conditions were tricky, with heavy rain and strong winds, but The Spitfires started quickly; impressing with slick passing and shooting to ease to a 3-0 and 2-0 victory.
Spalding began the fightback with a strong performance in the third and fourth game, securing a 0-0 and 2-2 draw respectively.
As the confidence built during the fifth game, the passing and moving improved.
Spalding applied sustained pressure, causing the Spitfires goalkeeper to perform several nail-biting saves.But, in the dying minutes, Spalding secured their first victory (1-0) with a stunner from the edge of the box.
After the defeat Wisbech brought their A team players on; but this time Spalding were ready for their moves and held firm in defence.
Quick-fire shooting had Wisbech run ragged and soon resulted in Spalding being awarded a penalty which was coolly converted. They were pegged back with a shot through the keeper’s legs, but Spalding were not finished there and pressed forward shooting from everywhere on the pitch.
Despite heroic goalkeeping from Spitfires, it wasn’t enough and Spalding scored a clever goal from a free-kick on the outside of the area and fired home the third goal in the final moments of the game.
Coach Barrett said: “For our first fixture, I was incredibly impressed with our performances. We showed great resilience to come back from our early defeats to not only compete but beat a very experienced and skilful team.”
Spalding have a diverse group of both men and women ranging from 30 to 85 years and over.
All abilities and experiences are very welcome to join their training sessions, which are held on Monday at Surfleet’s Glen Park (5.45pm) and on Thursday at Monkshouse Lane playing field in Spalding (9.30am).
