Lewis Thorogood has urged his Spalding United squad to put last weekend’s humbling at Cleethorpes Town behind them as they prepare to take on another of the BetVictor NPL South East Division’s big-hitters.
The 15th-placed Tulips were crushed 5-0 at Cleethorpes (see page 37) ahead of this Saturday’s visit of play-off chasing Carlton Town (3pm).
But interim boss Thorogood, who admits that a few of his squad were left stunned by the big defeat, feels his young side have enough in their locker to upset the odds at the Sir Halley Stewart Playing Field on Saturday.
“Results like last weekend can happen in football,” said the caretaker boss.
“I’ve been around the block long enough not to let it bother me at all.
“I have to be realistic. Barring the likes of Jamie Jackson and Michael Duggan, our team was full of very young players.
“We are going to be prone to lapses in concentration and naivety – and nobody likes a game losing 5-0.
“If I’m honest, I think it stunned a few of the lads.
“The most important thing now is that we shrug off that result, put it to bed and focus on Carlton this weekend.
“We’re in the middle of a very hard run of games and this is no different.
“Carlton have shocked a few people this year and it’ll be a very difficult fixture for us.
“We need to be together as a group and make sure we don’t have a repeat of the week before.
“Are Carlton a good side? Yes. Are we capable of beating them? Of course.”
Spalding hope to be boosted by the return of striker Jack Smith, who has missed the past few games with an ankle injury.
Versatile defender Josh Spencer is also rated “60/40” by Thorogood, while Josh Woodock and Lewis Smith could both make their home debuts after featuring in the loss at Cleethorpes.
Sixth-placed Carlton go into the game some nine points clear of the Tulips with a massive six games in hand. They have won eight games away from home this season, with only leaders Leek Town managing more.
The Tulips have only won three of their 13 home games in the league, but did draw the reverse fixture 1-1 back in September.
