Round-up from the ladies section at Spalding Hockey Club

Spalding Ladies maintained their four-point lead at the top of the East League Division 2NW table after victory over Peterborough 3rds on Saturday.

The Maroons secured a 5-0 home success at Glen Park to retain their control of the title race with four matches of the season remaining.

It was a dominant performance against a Peterborough side who had proven to be a tough opponent in the previous away fixture.

Despite the tricky opposition, Spalding's teamwork and skill were on full display.

It took some time for the first goal but Spalding's fluid ball movement was evident.

From Evie Maltby to Tabitha Dunnett to Lauren Harvey, the ball was beautifully transferred around the back, setting up the midfield for a forward push.

Jess Ball was pivotal in orchestrating the play, ensuring smooth distribution throughout the match.

They broke the deadlock after 28 minutes when Honor Moore, who had an outstanding game, passed to Laura Graves, who calmly slotted the ball home to give Spalding a 1-0 lead.

After a much-needed half-time talk from the coach, captain, and manager, Spalding came out strong in the second half.

Early into the second period, Georgina Maplethorpe delivered a precise ball to Graves who scored again to double the lead.

Spalding continued to find their rhythm and the goals kept coming.

Moore took advantage of a brilliant counter-attack, adding another goal, before a well-executed short corner saw Graves score once more.

Finally, in a display of individual brilliance, Moore sealed the victory with a beautiful reverse shot for the final goal.

It was a complete team performance with stand-out moments of skill and excellent play throughout the match.

St Ives are Spalding's closest challengers and they kept up the pressure on the pacesetters with a 7-0 victory against the Maroons' second team.

The game had started off well with Spalding dominating the first 10 minutes.

Unfortunately, shortly afterwards, St Ives managed to score their first goal.

There was brilliant play throughout the game from Spalding and plenty of opportunities for both sides but St Ives had a three-goal advantage at the break.

A goal continued to elude Spalding in the second half as St Ives scored a further four times without reply.

Spalding 3rds were immensely proud of their performance despite an 8-2 defeat against runaway Division 4NW leaders March Town.

The Maroons always knew this was going to be a tough game but held their own from the start.

They made some beautiful passes around the March players and a ball across the goal from Sam Foston saw player of the match Elouise Doughty leap forward to connect her stick and secure Spalding's first goal.

Spalding managed to hold March off until a lucky ball found their strongest player who made it past Grace Hodgett in defence to equalise.

Shortly after, March managed to score again, leaving Spalding 2-1 down.

Spalding were not fazed by this and worked hard to recover the scoreline.

Some beautiful passing between Poppy Hooker and Jess Bail-Bedford on the left saw the ball enter the D to Lucy McClements, but the March goalkeeper kept the ball out.

Before the half-time whistle, March scored two more goals, bringing the score to 4-1.

Spalding's perseverance showed from the whistle to start the second half with Chloe P taking the ball around several March players to give the forwards a chance to score but unfortunately they couldn't find the back of the net.

Despite the efforts of Kirsty Gammons, Terri Robinson, and Holly Gleave in defence, March were able to score two more goals past a very busy goalkeeper, Eliza Morris, leaving the score at 6-1.

Undeterred, Spalding Ladies saw a ball from Kelly Tizzano enter the D. After some scrambling, Jess Worth managed to slip it past the keeper, scoring their second goal of the game.

Spalding found their stride by dominating March with textbook play and passing the ball wide to winger Jessica Pilgrim.

Pilgrim's long legs and fast pace carried the ball into the attacking D but forward Khloe Brewster was unable to get past the March goalkeeper.

Despite dominating possession for much of the game, Spalding conceded two more goals to March.

Spalding now aim to maintain this level of play for the rest of the season to bring home some points. They travel to Wisbech on Saturday.