Spalding Ladies’ 1st 0
City of Peterborough 2nd 5
The game began with a high intensity and pressure applied from the opposition who quickly found themselves 2-0 up following a flurry of short corners.
Spalding had some positive plays down the wings and were unfortunate not to score.
Peterborough were awarded two consecutive penalty strokes with the second one being expertly saved by keeper Gaby Taylor.
The first half ended 3-0 to Peterborough.
Spalding started the second half strong and applied pressure resulting in some chances on goal which were denied by Peterborough’s keeper.
Peterborough came back and scored two goals despite several goal-line clearances.
Ely City 1st 4
Spalding Ladies’ 2nd 4
Goals: Lauren Harvey, Kate Amess, Sam Maltby, Tabitha Dunnett
Spalding applied early pressure on the Ely defence with Erin McMurray missing out narrowly on a goal.
Ely retaliated and within the space of ten minutes had put three goals past the stunned Spalding team.
Not to be deterred Spalding re-structured and Harvey went on the attack to draw the opposition keeper out of her goal and flick the ball into the left-hand corner.
Now fired up, Amess caught a rebound ball off the keeper’s pads and slotted the ball home to leave the score line at 3-2 at half time.
Ely were awarded another penalty corner early in the second half and despite the tremendous efforts of the defensive line, a fourth goal was in for Ely.
Back on the attack, Amy Naylor secured a penalty corner and Dunnett stepped up for the first strike then executed seamlessly into the back of goal.
At 4-3 and 25 minutes to go Spalding knew they had the resilience to fight for more.
Player of the match, Amess, drove the ball up the wing running past a number of defenders and onto a foot for another penalty corner.
Maltby injected to McMurray on a left slip, McMurray back to Maltby, her shot initially saved but with a quick reaction from Maltby on the post, score line 4-4.
The final ten minutes of the game felt like a bombardment of penalty corners against Spalding but with the whole team tightly marking players and a fired-up Hodgett commanding her goal Ely couldn’t take the game to a win.
Spalding Ladies’ 3rd 3
Ely City 2nd 1
Goals: AJ Taplin (2), Claire Hindmarsh
Ely won convincingly at home, but Spalding were determined to not let that happen and started piling on the pressure.
A long ball through from Hindmarsh found striker Taplin and she smashed home the first.
Ely fought back but Spalding’s defence stood strong, Leanne Isaac-Pick cleared the ball to Sam Foston who found striker Taplin who dribbled round several players before slotting it into the corner.
Just before half time, Ely scored a well worked goal to make it 2-1.
Spalding came back after half time even more determined and attacked relentlessly.
A strong push from Sophie Wilson found Hindmarsh who accurately smashed home her first for the season, making it 3-1.
Cambridge City 2nd 7 Spalding Men’s 1st 0
Spalding Men’s 1st faced a tough match against a physical Cambridge City 2s side, ultimately falling 7-0.
Spalding struggled to create chances and were unable to convert their penalty corners, while Cambridge’s attackers took advantage of their control of the game.
However, Spalding did have some bright moments in defence, making it difficult for Cambridge to score at times.
Spalding Men’s 2nd 4 Cambridge Nomads 5
Goals: Darren Grooby (2), Tim Maltby, Pete Wright
Spalding started the better side dominating the play and found themselves ahead after 15 minutes with Grooby slotting home.
The second goal came shortly after when Maltby pounced on a loose ball in the D to slot past the keeper.
After more positive play, the third and fourth goals came in quick succession, Grooby again on target with a penalty stroke and a neat deflection from Wright saw the home side go into the break 4-0 up.
The second half was a different story with Cambridge upping their game and Spalding in disarray for the first 15 minutes, finding themselves level at 4-4.
Spalding managed to get a foothold back in the game, but Cambridge found the killer blow five minutes from time to take the three points.
Spalding Men’s 3rd 3
March Town 2nd 2
Goals: Dave Burrell, Charlie Smith
The game started in intense fashion with both teams creating multiple chances but sadly none were completed.
The score remained 0-0 at half time.
As the second half started the intensity stayed the same with March eventually scoring straight to the top left corner from a short corner.
Spalding soon responded with an equaliser from Burrell with Tim Amess getting the assist which gave Spalding hope that there was a chance of victory.
Within the final ten minutes, Glenn Richardson ran the length of the pitch hoping to be victorious but unfortunately the ball fell between the keeper’s legs and sat on the line, only for Smith to tap it in and claim the winning goal.
City of Peterborough 8th 0
Spalding Men’s 4th 1
Goals: Steve Thurlbourne
The 4th travelled to Peterborough to take on a side that they have struggled to beat in past seasons.
In a tight encounter, a first half goal proved to be the only difference between the two sides as Spalding came away with all three points.
Spalding started off on the front foot but couldn’t break down a stubborn Peterborough defence whilst at the other end Spalding also kept it tight.
Rob Callaby in goal made a couple of great saves to keep Spalding in the match from short corner set pieces.
The travelling side took the lead when Thurlbourne deflected home a quick free hit pass from Julian Taylor.
In the second half, Spalding created more chances as legs tired and Jack Dorsett was unlucky to see his shot saved by the Peterborough goalkeeper whilst Harry Shersby also saw an effort well saved.
Spalding kept their nerve and despite Peterborough having a goal correctly chalked off for an infringement, the away side held out for a good, hard-fought win.
Spalding travel to Cambridge next week to play the league leaders in easily one of their hardest games of the season.
