Frustrated captain Rob Ambrose admits that he’s becoming a little worried by Spalding Town’s plight in the Lincs ECB Premier League.
Town remain bottom of the standings after battling their way to a losing draw against relegation rivals Grimsby Town on Saturday and are 14 points adrift of Grantham in 11th place.
This Saturday’s trip to mid-table Louth (noon) marks the half-way stage of the season, with Spalding only having two wins from ten matches so far.
Ambrose reckons that “shocking” player availability has been key to Town’s troubles, while he’s also concerned by his team’s inability to produce a complete performance on a regular basis.
“We’re approaching the half-way point and it doesn’t look great,” lamented Ambrose. “It’s disappointing to be bottom of the table.
“I genuinely believe that we’ve got the quality to get out of this mess.
“But availability has been shocking all season, if I’m honest. We just can’t get our best side out…ever.
“That’s been reflected in our performances. One week we bat well, but bowl terribly. Other weeks it’s the opposite, or we field badly.
“We just can’t put all three together. If we could, we’d have no trouble at all.
“If we don’t start picking a few more points up, we’ll start falling further behind.
“As things stand, we’re still within touching distance of getting off the bottom – and we’ve still got all of our rivals to play again.
“We’ll go to Louth aiming to win, but after that the fixtures are tough in July – the likes of Woodhall Spa and Bracebridge, for example.
“That’s as tough as it gets.”
It was the batting department that cost Town dear on Saturday, as they could only collect five points from their clash with Grimsby at Spalding Grammar School, having failed to chase down the visitors’ 199-7.
They did, however, reach 148-9 – with Josh Newton top scoring on 37 – to deny third-from-bottom Grimsby maximum points. Bowling first, opening duo Charlie Kearns (3-38) and Henry
Charlton (2-43) gave Spalding a super start as they removed the top four – Joe Farmery (17), Steven Butterfield (10), Brendan Volley (5) and Michael Brown (5) – in lightning fast time.
Although Nuwan Jayasena (1-63) and Dan Milgate (1-54) both got among the wickets, Steven Crossley (46) and Lee Charlton (62no) led a spirited fightback to ensure Spalding would have to score 200 to take the victory they craved.
The run chase never really got going, though, with three of Town’s top five departing very cheaply. Skipper Ambrose and all-rounder Henry Charlton both went for ducks, while talisman Warren
Nel managed just four and Ben Smith amassed only three.
However, number three Newton did offer some stubborn resistance, while Milgate (24), Tim Norris (13), Jayasena (13) and Kearns (16) did their best to stem the tide.
Connor Hawkins (4-32), Lee Charlton (3-59) and Bailey Mawer (2-30) eventually ran through them, but young guns James Hook (21no) and David Thomas (4no) refused to accept defeat and ensured Town collected a losing draw.
Ambrose added: “I thought we bowled and fielded very well. We took early wickets with Henry and Charlie really on-song – and in truth we were unlucky not to get them out a bit more cheaply.
“But I still backed us to chase down 200. Unfortunately a few of us went very cheaply early on and it wasn’t looking good.
“In the end, we did well to hang on for a losing draw. Jimmy, in particular, did very well. I think we got a glimpse of the massive potential he has and a preview of the kind of player he can be for this club in the future.
“Overall, it feels like a missed chance. We’ve made life difficult for ourselves again, which has really been the theme of our season.”
Town are sweating on the fitness of all-rounder Henry Charlton (groin) ahead of the trip to Louth, but do welcome back in-form batsmen Luke Hollingworth.
