Spalding Ladies’ 1st 1
Norwich City 1st 4
Spalding moved the ball well and created several promising attacks, including some excellent runs down the line that stretched the Norwich defence.
At the other end, Spalding’s back line stayed composed, dealing with pressure effectively and shutting down a series of Norwich short corners in the final ten minutes. The sides went into half-time level at 0-0.
The second half saw Norwich make more of their opportunities, converting a couple of short corners and benefiting from some unfortunate deflections to build a 4-0 lead.
Despite the scoreline, Spalding continued to press and were rewarded late on when Charlotte Maplethorpe calmly finished to bring one back for 4-1.
Freya Lee earned player of the match with a string of excellent saves that kept Spalding in the game during key moments.
Spalding Ladies’ 2nd 1
Cambridge South 1
Spalding started the game really strongly, piling on the pressure and creating chance after chance.
It felt like a goal was coming, but nothing would quite drop for them.
Then, about 20 minutes in, a simple defensive slip let Cambridge South sneak through and take a 1-0 lead, which was frustrating considering how well Spalding had started.
In the second half, Spalding came out determined to put things right. They kept the ball brilliantly and won several short corners, but Cambridge South’s defence – and their keeper especially – were in top form and somehow kept everything out.
That finally changed in the 50th minute thanks to an excellent bit of play from Callie Priestley. She carried the ball just outside the D, pulled the keeper out of position, and calmly flicked it over them into the goal. A huge moment, and it brought Spalding level at 1-1.
The goal really lifted the whole team. From then on, Spalding looked the stronger side, with the defence shutting down every Cambridge South attack.
Emily Wright, who fully deserved the player of the match award, was outstanding, dribbling down the line time and time again and creating loads of attacking chances.
Spalding Ladies’ 3rd 2
St Neots 4
Both teams started well with Spalding using the width and St Neots clearly well drilled as a team.
After 11 minutes, the ball hit a Spalding foot on the goal line and St Neots were awarded a flick.
Debutant keeper and joint player of the match, Sam Foston, was not fazed and stood strong in front of the ball. Unfortunately the penalty stroke was fast and furious and flew into the top left of the goal.
Kicking Spalding into action, this time a St Neots foot was found in the D and Kelly Tizzano was able to launch a straight strike into the goal following a perfect injection from Lucy Wilson in their first penalty corner of the game.
St Neots were able to pull another goal from a scramble in the D.
Jessica Pilgrim was like lightning in her runs down the right wing. She was so fast in one penalty corner that she was ordered to the half way line leaving Wilson to find the ball whilst Pilgrim sprinted back to the D to help ensure the clearance.
A confident early strike from St Neots saw half time finish 3-1 to the home side.
Joint player of the match Lily Hooker was ferocious in her attacking and defending clearing the ball and taking control of many areas of the pitch. When Spalding were awarded a penalty corner, Hooker stepped up for a straight strike which was shut down by St Neots.
Determined to get her goal, Hooker fought in the D and cleanly pushed the ball into the back of the net.
St Neots were able to find another goal despite some excellent defending from Spalding and special mention to Megan Wright for her outstanding communication and positioning.
Finally a thunderbolt ball from the halfway way line into the D saw a young St Neots player lay their stick down to deflect the ball into the goal.
Final score was 4-2.
Spalding Men’s 1st 3
Cambridge South 2nd 1
With the rain pouring down, the boys started well piling on the pressure which eventually led to a breakthrough goal from James Grant to put Spalding one up.
The story was much the same for the rest of the first half, with Spalding unable to convert the high amounts of possession and opportunities into goals.
The first half came to a close with Spalding leading 1-0.
With the weather deteriorating the second half started with the boys continuing to apply pressure on the backline of Cambridge.
In a lapse of awareness, Spalding allowed passes down the line and Cambridge were able to claw one back against the flow of the game.
Spalding instantly bounced back with Jacob Baker deflecting a ball into the bottom corner after a defence splitting ball.
With that goal Cambridge seemed to crumble, with Spalding winning 50/50 and playing some fantastic hockey, but were unfortunate to put the ball across the white line. Spalding were able to win multiple penalty corners, one of which resulted in the opposition goalkeeper being sent off, an odd one but we weren’t ones to complain.
With this advantage, Stuart Cunnington was able to convert his penalty corner attempt to take Spalding 3-1 up.
Cambridge didn’t lay down for Spalding, and on one instance a call of “leave it” was made, allowing an opposition forward to collect the ball right in front of the Spalding goal. But luckily with the quick actions of Oscar Haunch and Cunnington, the threat was neutralised.
Spalding Men’s 2nd 1
Cambridge South 2nd 1
Spalding grabbed a dramatic last minute equaliser thanks to a dragged short corner effort from Glenn Richardson.
In a game that struggled to hit the heights in torrential rain, South had taken the lead mid way through the first half thanks to a third phase strike from an unmarked player four yards out.
The first half was otherwise a pretty even affair with Spalding twice hitting the left hand post but being unable to find the goal their play deserved.
The second half was very different with Spalding almost exclusively dominating the game.
However a mix of good defending and keeping and poor finishing kept them at bay.
As the minutes ticked by they faced down the barrel of another one-goal defeat until Richardson’s late strike gained a point for the Maroons.
Spalding Men’s 3rd 9
St Neots 1
Spalding Men’s 3rd travelled to St Neots in wet, rainy conditions, but despite the challenging weather they produced a dominant performance, returning home with a superb 9-1 win.
From the outset, Spalding took control. Glenn Perkins led the line with real authority, directing play with clear communication, threading dangerous through balls, and firing in threatening short-corner efforts.
Up front, Dylan Hind and Rafa Read were a constant menace, linking up superbly throughout the match.
Their highlight moment came from a slick one-two around the keeper, finished calmly by Read.
Although a few moments looked close to drawing cards, the team kept their composure.
In midfield, Alfie Fletcher and Tim Amess controlled the tempo, keeping possession steady despite the challenging surface.
Out wide, Rafa Read and Brian Read stretched the St Neot’s defence, while Cheston Palmer’s leads created space and opened up attacking opportunities. Amess added to the momentum with two composed bottom-corner finishes after finding pockets of space in the middle.
At the back, Martin Perkins and Ethan Worrall were strong, organised, and disciplined, shutting down St Neots’ attacks and keeping the game firmly in Spalding’s control.
Hind continued causing problems in the D, winning multiple short corners — one of which led to his own back-post tap-in after a precise pass from Perkins.
The final goal came from a driving run by Tom Eve, who linked up neatly with Brian Read before sweeping the ball into the bottom corner.
Spalding Men’s 4th 0
St Ives 4th 8
Spalding 4th travelled to St Ives 4ths in another potential tough match on paper. And it proved to be the case in cold wet conditions as Spalding couldn’t keep up with the pace and passing prowess of the hosts.
Despite all the Maroons’ efforts, there was simply a gulf in class as an excellent St Ives side ran in four goals in the first half and a further four in the second half.
However, when Spalding did pass the ball with short passes, they looked a decent side so there was a silver lining to the defeat.
