Spalding Town 3
Peterborough Sports A 1
Spalding Town put their Junior Cup heartache behind them to lift the Intermediate Shield following a stellar showing on Saturday.
Having lost the first of their two finals on penalties last Wednesday night, Town bounced back in style to beat Peterborough Sports A 3-1 at The Grange thanks to goals from Marcus Parry, Martin Sandall and sub Joel Meadows.
All three goals came from one-on-one situations in the first period – and although Sports pulled one back, Town defended superbly in the second period to clinch the crown.
Having been so dejected by last week’s penalty shoot-out loss to Ryhall United Reserves, Town chief Chris Page admitted that he and his side are over the moon with their success.
He said: “Wednesday night was very disappointing.
“To dominate the game so much and come away losing on penalties – there was a lot of players who were heartbroken. If we looked at the stats I think we had 20 odd attempts to their two, which says it all really. Unfortunately we were unable to put the ball in the net.
“Saturday was all about getting the lads to relax and forget about Wednesday night. We decided to leave the suits at home which is usually the way in a cup final and decided to wear tracksuits just so that the lads were comfortable and in a good frame of mind.
“We turned up at the ground and they had a few ringers in, which spurred the lads on more and gave us some fire in our bellies. The lads seemed up for it, as we knew they had to bring these ringers in to beat us.
“When the final whistle came it was a great feeling.
“After Wednesday night and the heartache of losing the game, for the lads to come back against a team that we will finish runners-up to in the league was a massive achievement for is.
“From one to 11 we were fantastic and even the lads on the bench did their bit. I think we won every single battle.
“It was also very pleasing for 16-year-old goalkeeper Ryan Plant to get his first trophy for the club. He has a great future. The lad is a monster, a lot of teams we have played this year can’t believe he’s so young.
“He has a great future, but hopefully he can play a few more seasons for Town before he gets a better offer.”
Town’s great week continued on Tuesday night when they won 4-2 at Baston Reserves to clinch promotion, Parry (2), Gav Bailey and Josh McGuire getting the goals. They then visit Kings Cliffe Reserves tonight (Thursday, 6.45pm), before finishing their season at home to Peterborough PL United on Saturday (2pm).
Having enjoyed a successful season, there has been speculation that Page will move on. But he’s confirmed that he’s staying with Town – and can’t wait for next season.
He added: “All in all it’s been a another good season for us. At the start we wanted promotion, but to get into two cup finals is a great achievement – plus reaching the last eight of the county cup.
There has been a lot of speculation about myself leaving Town at the end of the season, as I got offered the opportunity to manage somewhere else. But I’m pleased I’ve decided to stay here – and I’m now looking forward to building a squad for next season.”
