Northwich Victoria 1
Spalding United 3
Three well-taken goals at their most northerly and longest destination of the season resulted in Spalding United earning an eye-catching Evo-Stik NPL Division One South win on Saturday.
After three hours on the road and just under 150 miles (one way) covered on various roads including the notorious M6, the three points won by the Tulips were just reward for a job well done.
The victory over a club that, only a few years ago were competing in the Football League, was comprehensive.
They took a sixth minute lead through midfielder Nathan Whitehead, while Bradley Wells notched his sixth of the season midway through the first half and 17-year-old Jonny Lockie put the gloss on proceedings with the neatest of finishes in the second minute of added time.
Boss Dave Frecklington said: “What a great result this was for us. We went off the boil for a spell early in the second half, but dug in to play some excellent football and get the result we so deserved.”
On an excellent playing surface, the Tulips were quickly into full stride and their early lead was the start they needed.
Andrew Wright broke down the left side and unleashed a tremendous curling shot from 20 yards, only to be denied by the woodwork. The ball, however, fell kindly to Whitehead who made no mistake from close in.
Within a minute Wright combined beautifully with Wells, but was muscled off the ball. The resulting free kick by Wells was inches off target.
But it was no surprise when the lead was stretched on 29 minutes, Wells hooking the ball in from close range in a packed area following a tantalising Wright corner.
As the half drew to a close Whitehead’s head connected with one of Matt Varley’s long throws and brought a good save from goalkeeper Mason Springthorpe.
Northwich were playing some neat football themselves, particularly down the left side with Alex Byrne posing a few problems with some speedy runs and deft crosses. A free kick resulted from one such movement, but goalkeeper Michael Duggan was more than equal to Michael Brewster’s well-placed kick towards a top corner.
The home team stepped up a gear at the start of the second half and created a few good scoring opportunities.
Varley headed one of their efforts away at the expense of a corner and Duggan got a solid fist onto the following kick.
The away keeper was a mere spectator when a cross-cum shot from the dominant Byrne flew over his head and into the far top angle of the goal to reduce the home deficit in the 72nd minute.
This was a wake-up call for the Tulips, who went on to dominate the final quarter of the game, creating a number of scoring opportunities in the process.
But it was left to teenager Lockie to ignite the celebrations. With the home team players upfield and caught out by a long Neal Spafford clearance, Lockie gave chase, beat a lone defender for possession and calmly rounded keeper Springthorpe to tap into an open goal in the second of four added minutes indicated by referee Dean Watson.
The victory is one of the most impressive in Spalding’s recent history – and proves that they’re going to be a force to be reckoned with this season.
Tulips: Duggan, Walker, Lemon, Varley, Stainfield, Spafford, Acar, Whitehead, Wells (Costa 88), Downey (Field 80), Wright (Lockie 75).
Attendance: 102.
