A four-goal first-half burst kept Spalding United’s Southern League Premier Central play-off hopes alive.
However, they were made to work hard for the points after hosts Biggleswade Town hit back with three goals of their own after the break.
It left manager Jimmy Dean focussed on the victory, rather than how it came.
“No-one’s going to dampen that for me it’s a big three points” said Dean, whose team remain seven points adrift of the golden fifth place they need to extend their season with the chance of elevation to the National League North. We won the first half 4-0 but lost the second 3-0,” said Dean. “Ultimately the win is all that matters but I don’t think the second half played out like the score reflects.
“We had three, four, five clear-cut chances but we were nowhere near as clinical as we had been in the first half.
“There is stuff we could have done better for all three goals, particularly the third, we could have prevented those happening.”
Recent signing Jack Roberts opened the scoring with his first goal in his new colours after just two minutes of his first start. James Clifton then played in Joe Nyahwema to make it 2-0 with barely seven minutes gone.
Clifton was then fouled, allowing Dan Lawlor to convert a 22nd-minute penalty before an own goal from Pat Staszewski made it 4-0 ten minutes before the interval.
Hopes of boosting their goal difference were dashed after the break with the hosts halving the deficit inside five minutes and then adding a third in the last minute.
“We could have started the second half better but Biggleswade are a good team. They haven’t got the points they probably deserved” said Dean.
“We made a few changes and set up a bit different and looked potent, even in the second half on the counter-attack. We didn’t take our chances, the wind made it tough and complacency crept in. At 4-2 I thought the substitutes came on and impacted the game really well.”
As for promotion chances, Dean admits it will be a tough challenge but his team still had that target. “It’s going to be incredibly difficult but we can only do what we can do. Stick with us. We always look promising and we haven’t given it up yet,” added Dean.
Tulips: Chapman, Walker, Fox (Brown 68), Moore, Cartwright, Lawlor (Cybulski), Sembie-Ferris (Sano-Sani), Freeman, Clifton, Roberts (Law), Nyahwema (Chettle).
Attendance: 191.
