Belper Town 0
Spalding United 0
Spalding United will be playing step four football again next season after achieving a vital point from their final Evo-Stik NPL East Division game of the season in the heart of the Derbyshire Dales on Saturday.
Knowing that a single point at Belper Town would keep them out of the relegation positions, the Tulips actually completed their campaign four points clear of 19th-placed Carlton Town and six ahead of basement side Gresley, who both lost their final games.
They also finished level on points with local rivals Wisbech Town (who suffered defeat at the hands of champions Morpeth Town), but ended up behind them by a narrow margin of two goals difference.
Saturday’s game at mid-table Belper Town was never going to be easy. But it became even more difficult when faced with the fierce winds of Storm Hannah blasting straight down the pitch.
However, the entertainment value was exceptional, exciting and nail-biting at times.
Facing the elements in the first half, the Tulips withstood the home team’s advances magnificently.
The back four of Taron Hare, James Hugo, Rudy Misambo and Neal Spafford provided the vital cover for goalkeeper Michael Duggan, while the midfield quartet of James Culingworth, Kegan Everington, Archie Moyses and Isaac Cooper made the link to the strike partnership of George Zuerner and Leon Mettam highly efficiently.
The Tulips were first to show in attack. Cooper took a neat pass from skipper Mettam cleanly and turned his marker to curl a great shot inches wide of keeper Sebastian Malkowski’s left-hand post after just six minutes.
Belper responded with Craig Nelthorpe testing Duggan with a well directed header following a long throw into the area.
Mid-way through the opening period Jordan Deacey’s wind-assisted shot from 30-yards out also flew just wide of the target.
Duggan again showed his ability when he punched the ball away amid the aerial threat of home attackers as the half-time break approached, while at the other end a promising Tulips break just failed to make the final breakthrough.
With the strong wind at their backs in the second half, the Tulips’ attacks were becoming a lot more frequent.
A Cullingworth free-kick was floated into the home area, but narrowly missed making contact with both Zuerner and Everington.
Belper did have the ball in the Tulips net on 73 minutes, but Alex Peterson’s strike was ruled out for a foul on Duggan.
Two minutes later Zuerner’s head connected with a Cullingworth free-kick, but the ball missed the target by inches.
At the final whistle a draw was a fair result between two hard-working teams, with the Tulips’ particularly pleased to have ended the season with a clean sheet and a highly valued point.
Tulips: Duggan, Hare, Hugo, Cullingworth, Misambo, Spafford, Moyses (Floyd 64), Everington, Mettam (Fixter 89), Zuerner, Cooper. Not used: White, Smith.
Sponsors’ MOTM: Isaac Cooper.
Attendance: 309
