Spalding Poachers 1st moved 12 points clear at the top of East Women’s Hockey League Division Two North West by making it 14 wins from as many games on Saturday.
Mia Dewing (4), Charlotte Maplethorpe, Hennie Boekestyn, Harriet Mowbray and Ellie Holland got the goals at Glen Park as Poachers went past 100 goals for the season.
Mowbray scored Spalding’s first goal with a great run up the pitch, finishing with a solid strike in the D.
Megan Moore assisted their second goal, passing the ball to Maplethorpe, who spun around the keeper to slot the ball into the back of the net.
Poachers then won a short corner in which Georgina Maplethorpe assisted Dewing, who scored the first of her four.
Shortly after, Holland won Spalding a penalty stroke which Dewing confidently scored to put the team 4-0 up.
Boekestyn bagged Poachers’ fifth goal, deflecting the ball past the keeper from the back post.
There was, however, time for St Neots to score from a deflection just before half time, making the score 5-1.
Spalding started the second half strongly, working the ball up the pitch where Charlotte Maplethorpe took an excellent shot on goal, with the rebound falling for Holland to bury.
Dewing scored Spalding’s 100th goal of the season from a short corner, taking a brilliant shot on her reverse.
The red-hot Dewing also gained the final goal of the game with a shot from the top of the D.
However, with excellent tackling and workrate in midfield, it was Moore who claimed player of the match.
In the same division, Long Sutton ladies’ 1st suffered a 3-1 home defeat against City of Peterborough 3rd.
Hannah Baker was the sole scorer for Sutton, who remain in the bottom four.
In Division Three North West, Spalding Poachers 3rd picked up a huge win as they beat Bourne Deeping 2nd 2-1 to claim only their second win of the campaign.
Starting superbly, Poachers went ahead when player-of-the-match Tabitha Dunnett took the ball out wide and raced slickly into the D before finding the back of the net.
With captain Charlotte Morris determined to secure the victory, her side played with strength – best emphasised by the showing of Samantha Foston on the day.
However, Bourne often broke quickly and they managed to bring it back to 1-1 in the second period.
But Spalding weren’t beaten and Sophie Wilson intercepted many passes and ran to the back line to cross in some beautiful balls.
When Poachers were given a short corner, they knew what to do and a superb pass from the dependable Sharon Amess linked to Foston, who found the backboard.
With minutes left, this jubilant side ensured they kept the ball to keep their fight to stay up alive.
Meanwhile, Spalding 2nd’s early morning game against Ely City 1st in the same division was postponed due to a frozen pitch at Surfleet.
Down in Division Five North West, Long Sutton ladies’ 2nd enjoyed a 2-1 win at Cambridge South 6th and are now just four points off second place.
Their goals came from Esme Whitelam and Lottie Dack.
- Saturday fixtures: Cambridge Nomads 1st v Long Sutton 1st (11am); City of Peterborough 3rd v Spalding 1st (TBC); Spalding 3rd v Ely City 1st (11am); Newmarket 1st v Spalding 2nd (1.15pm); Long Sutton 2nd v Kettering 4th (1pm).
