A convincing third qualifying round replay victory over Bury Town on Tuesday pushed Spalding United to within 90 minutes of a possible FA Cup meeting with a Football League side.
After Saturday’s gritty 1-1 draw, the Tulips made no mistake at the second attempt to dispatch Bury Town, easing through 4-0.
Bart Cybulski marked his return to the starting line-up with a third-minute opener and Dan Jarvis added a second goal after 20 minutes.
Dan Barton made it 3-0 before half-time and passage was sealed when Ben Fowkes latched on to a rebound from Jarvis’ shot to add the fourth.
Spalding now face another Southern League Premier Division Central side in the fourth qualifying round on October 17. Alvechurch will travel to the Sir Halley Field, with another £9,375 in prize money up for grabs to go with the £9,000 the Tulips have secured from their second and third qualifying round successes.
A low-key encounter at Ram Meadow on Saturday saw Spalding hit back from behind to earn the replay with a 1-1 draw against the Southern League side.
Slack defending allowed Jamie McGrath the chance to put the hosts ahead after seven minutes but equally poor play at the back by the Suffolk side saw the Tulips pull level on the stroke of half-time.
A free-kick into the penalty area saw a home defender trip over the ball and the loose ball was rifled home by the predatory Dion Sembie-Ferris.
Both sides had half chances to snatch victory but Tulips manager Jimmy Dean said a draw was a fair result.
“We were dreadful in the first half; it was our worst half of the season,” he said.
“The preparation was superb and a great effort from the club, so there were no excuses for us to turn up like that.
“We looked like a horse that was stuck in the stables. We just couldn’t get going.
“We were very lucky to come in at one-all and were miles away from where we need to be. Neither me and the coaches, nor the players were happy but we got a reaction.
“In the second half the game changed. Bury looked little bit leggy after a hard run of games. We came on strong and the subs impacted well.
“We could have nicked it but on the balance of play a draw was definitely fair but both teams will be very disappointed with how the goals were conceded.”
Attention switches back to the National League North on Saturday with Spalding making the trek to the Lancashire coast to take on Marine.
Tulips (Bury, away): Crook, Rose, Kelly, Johnson, Bendle (Straughan-Brown), Sani (Jarvis), Barton (Cybulski), Fox, Fowkes (Betteka), Byrne, Sembie-Ferris.
Subs: Wilks, Grant.
Attendance: 1,205.
Tulips (Bury, home): Crook, Kelly, Johnson, Cybulski (Sani), Barton (Betteka), Jarvis (Grant), Fox, Fowkes, Byrne, Straughan-Brown (Bendle), Sembie-Ferris (Rose). Sub: Wilks.
Attendance: 731.
Pictures by Adrian Smith.
