Alan Charevicius scored a goal and was instrumental in the other as Spalding 5th grabbed a 2-0 win at Bourne/ Deeping 6th on Saturday – their third straight win.
Both teams started off well and looked to be evenly matched in this East League Division 6NW (N) clash.
End-to-end hockey followed and, with good link-up play between Spalding’s midfield and forwards, a goal was sure to follow.
Bourne/Deeping’s defence held firm until midway through the first half when Charevicius unleashed a shot which the keeper saved well, but couldn’t clear in time before Jack Martin tapped in.
Spalding keeper Max Pearce then saved well from a one-on-one situation.
Good pressure from the visitors followed again and this time Charevicius made no mistake with a well-struck shot from almost at the top of the D to find the net.
Spalding wanted more goals in the second but Bourne/Deeping kept the pressure on and came at Spalding.
Solid defending kept them out as they camped in Spalding’s D for long periods late on but, with confidence high, the visitors held on.
Meanwhile, up a level in Division 5NW, Spalding 4th struggled to get back into their pre-Christmas form against a tough March 2nd side and had to settle for a 3-3 draw.
Mark Haines was outstanding on his debut and scored the opening goal with a sweet strike.
March bounced back for the equaliser and this set the tone for the whole game. Ryan Davy and Andy Stone added further goals for Spalding but these were countered by a couple of well-taken goals by the home team.
Still in third place, Butcher’s team is still looking to keep the pressure on the league leaders.
