Spalding Hockey Club round-up
Spalding Ladies remain three points clear at the top of the East League Division 2NW table after a six-goal away success at Cambridge City 5ths on Saturday.
Honor Moore opened up the scoring after just four minutes with the team working the ball well up the pitch for her to slot home.
Spalding continued to pass the ball around well and scored again shortly after with Laura Graves slipping possession to Ellie Holland to convert at the back post.
The team worked hard defensively with Freya Lee in goal shutting down the Cambridge City attacks while Karen Timby ran out the goal well to intercept the home short corners.
Evie Maltby scored a short corner with a brilliant strike to give Spalding a three-goal interval lead.
They started the second half strongly, earning a short corner which Georgina Maplethorpe managed to deflect Graves’ shot into the goal for a 4-0 advantage.
Despite the weather, Spalding kept up their work rate, playing some really nice hockey.
Charlotte Maplethorpe passed across the goal to find player of the match Moore who scored her second goal of the game.
Graves rounded off the scoring after her first reverse hit rebounded off the keeper for her to strike again with a lovely finish into the goal.
While the first team remain unbeaten, the ladies' seconds are still seeking their maiden win of the campaign in the same division after a 5-2 away loss at Cambridge South.
The hosts scored four times in the opening 20 minutes before Spalding struck back as Camille Rogers dribbled the ball towards the baseline before picking out the perfect pass for Erin McMurray to score.
Spalding started the second half with renewed energy and scored again when McMurray ran into the D and placed her finish into the bottom left corner.
McMurray was denied again in a one-on-one after another breakaway run as Spalding managed to battle hard.
There were stand-out performances from goalkeeper Freya Lee and Pippa Bembridge, however, Cambridge South managed to score another goal before the end.
Spalding's third team went down to a 6-1 away defeat at Newmarket 2nds in Division 4NW.
The hosts dominated the game from the first whistle but Spalding fought back after conceding the opening goal.
There were some beautiful passes between Sam Foston and Chloe P down the wings to Elouise Doughty and Jess Pilgrim.
It wasn't long until they were awarded a short corner where joint player of the match Kelly Tizanno managed to level the scores.
However, shortly before the half-time whistle, Newmarket managed to score a second goal to take an interval lead.
The ever encouraging half-time talk from manager Michael Morris saw Spalding come out strong with great passes between Kiki and Khloe Brewster but they were unable to score.
Newmarket managed to get past Spalding's strong defensive line-up to score three more goals to take control of the contest.
Spalding could have clawed a goal back when a ball managed to get through to forward Terri Robinson who attempted a shot on goal where the keeper's side-kick found a perfectly positioned Khloe Brewster.
She slipped her shot past the goalkeeper but a Newmarket defensive player kicked it off the goal line and Spalding were awarded a penalty flick.
Tizzano, being on a scoring streak, stepped up to take the penalty but the Newmarket goalkeeper was able to save it.
Play continued and Newmarket managed to score once more before the end of a game that Spalding will want to put behind them and focus on the next home match against Cambridge South 6s on Saturday.
Spalding went down to a 3-1 away defeat despite playing arguably some of their best hockey of the season at Cambridge on Saturday.
They started the game slowly which Cambridge took advantage of and, through some quick play, their striker found the bottom corner to give the home side the lead.
Spalding regrouped and played themselves back into the game by winning several penalty corners which they were unable to convert.
The Maroons finished the first period strongly and ended the half by pinning Cambridge into their own area.
Spalding had a positive team talk at the break and, with a rejig of players in formation, came out continuing to play arguably their best hockey of the season so far.
With the rain and wind continuing to lash down, pitch conditions became tough.
Spalding survived a spell of Cambridge pressure with some outstanding saves by Oscar Haunch in goal which kept the game at 1-0.
With five minutes remaining, a kind deflection from a penalty corner fell to the Cambridge striker which made the game 2-0.
Spalding went up the other end from the restart and won their own penalty corner which Stu Cunnington finished with his reverse.
Spalding threw everything at Cambridge late on but got caught in the last few seconds and Cambridge made it 3-1.
The third team went into their game against high-flying Cambridge University 4ths with five defenders unavailable and were always going to find the fitness of their opposition a challenge.
After soaking up consistent early pressure, Spalding broke forward through Glenn Richardson who stumbled his way past defenders before the loose ball found Dan Wright to slot home.
University scored two quick goals in response before Richardson blasted over the bar with a short corner follow up.
Cambridge made it 3-1 just before the break before an unfortunate own goal and flick in the second half gave them control.
A consolation from Simon Goode was sandwiched between two more goals for the away side who ran out 7-2 winners.
The men's fourth team produced a strong performance in a hard-fought 2-1 loss to St Neots 3rds.
Despite being short of key players, the team showed great resilience, with James Booth being named man of the match for his outstanding performance in goal.
He made numerous crucial saves, including a penalty flick, to keep his team in the game.
St Neots took the lead in the first half and Spalding went into the break trailing 1-0.
The Maroons equalised after the interval with a well-executed goal from Jack Dorsett but St Neots responded in the 66th minute with a counterattack, scoring their second goal to regain the lead.
Spalding continued to press for an equaliser but couldn't convert their chances.
Dylan Hind, Rafa Read and Jake Sawyer provided strong efforts across the field while Lorenzo Mendoza and Alex Myland were solid in defence.
Despite the loss, Spalding’s performance was full of positives and showed continued development and a strong team effort.
