Spalding United 1
Stocksbridge PS 1
A last-gasp penalty miss from Rory Coleman ensured that Spalding United collected a deserved share of the spoils against play-off chasing Stocksbridge Park Steels on Saturday.
King’s Lynn Town loanee Tom Siddons netted nine minutes into his Tulips debut to give the hosts an early lead in the Evo-Stik NPL First Division South clash, only for Coleman to level direct from a corner ten minutes before half-time.
Chris Rawlinson’s side created the better chances in what was a close Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field clash, but they were almost stung at the death when Paul Walker shipped a penalty in added time.
However, Coleman’s effort came back off the outside of debutant keeper Michael Antkowiak’s post to ensure a valuable point for Spalding.
And, with Matt Varley making a surprise return to the starting line-up months after leaving the club, it was a largely positive day for the Tulips.
Rawlinson said: “I’ve challenged the boys to stop looking over their shoulders and ideally we want to try and catch Stocksbridge in the table.
“Beating them would have been important for us in our bid to do that. On the balance of play and chances, we probably merited the win.
“Having said that, they missed a late penalty – so maybe a point is fair enough.
“In Joe Lumsden they have one of the best forwards in the league. But I thought we dealt with him really well.
“Having Matt Varley back made a huge difference too, that was a big, big boost. He’s made for these sort of pitches and this time of year.
“Likewise, it helped having Tom Siddons on-board. He’ll need time to get sharp, but he looks like he can finish a chance and makes clever runs.
“Keeper Michael Antkowiak did really well too, especially when you consider he’s never played men’s football before. Yes, they scored direct from a corner – but it dropped straight into the top corner.
“Overall I’m really pleased with how we performed. We’re missing quite a few players at the moment, but I’m happy with what we’ve got – I think we’ll have an OK end to the season.
“I’ve got a few more irons in the fire that we’re working on, too.
“But to kick things off with a point against a good Stocksbridge side who have got real plans to make it into the play-offs probably shows we’ll be alright, especially at home.”
It took just three minutes for debutant Antkowiak, who is on a work experience loan from Lincoln City, to be called into action as he palmed away a long-ranger from Todd Jordan.
Nice interplay on the edge of the box then saw the Tulips go close when Cenk Acar flashed a cross-shot across the face of goal.
The hosts went one better minutes later, however, as Siddons marked his debut with a goal. The on-loan hitman raced free on the right and clinically slotted a low effort into the far corner.
Stocksbridge were unfortunate not to level the scores straight from the re-start, though, with Joe Lumsden rattling the bar from close range after a scramble in the box.
The end-to-end nature of the clash continued, with James Tricks teeing up Siddons with a clever pass. The striker saw his initial effort saved by David Reay, who then turned his follow-up effort into the side-netting.
From the resulting corner, Matt Varley was incredibly unlucky to see his scorching volley come back off the inside of the far post and into Reay’s hands.
The Tulips continued to create the better chances and were within a whisker of doubling their lead on 23 minutes when Tricks saw his low drive whistle just past the far post.
It was very nearly 1-1 on the half-hour, however, with Steels skipper Liam McFadyen nodding just over following a whipped free-kick from the left.
There was no denying the visitors on 35 minutes, though. A corner on the right from Coleman beat everybody and flew straight in, leaving debutant Antkowiak helpless.
Steels very nearly went ahead seconds later after a mazy run from Brodie Litchfield, but his strike was blocked after he beat a few men and cut in from the left.
Spalding remained a threat and almost went back ahead when Acar’s dipping free-kick from distance was well tipped over the bar by Reay.
It was the Tulips who had the first sight of goal in the second period as youngster James Hugo saw his accurate free-kick saved by a flying Reay, with an offside Tricks putting the rebound wide.
Lively left-sider Hugo then curled another long-range set-piece just over, before seeing a near-post effort saved by Reay.
That man Reay was called into action again soon after as he was forced to tip Conor Marshall’s powerful effort from distance just past his far post.
The hosts didn’t have things all their own way, with young Antkowiak forced to make a smart near-post save from Lumsden ten minutes from time.
The teenage keeper then tipped a curling Coleman free-kick wide of the target as it looked like the teams would settle for a share of the spoils.
But there was late drama when Walker was adjudged to have hauled down a Steels player in the box, but Coleman’s spot-kick hit the woodwork and Spalding escaped with a point that edges them seven points clear of the solitary relegation place.
Tulips: Antkowiak, Fixter, Hugo, Varley, Humble, Spafford, Walker, Marhsall, Siddons, Tricks (Lockie 74) , Acar. Not used: Duggan, Havard, Floyd.
MOTM: Fixter.
Attendance: 70.
