Spalding Hockey Club round-up
Spalding Ladies have been crowned champions after winning the East League Division 2NW title at the weekend.
The Maroons were 4-0 home winners over Cambridge City 5ths while closest rivals St Ives suffered a one-goal away loss at Pelicans.
It moved Spalding seven points clear at the top of the table with just two matches of the campaign remaining.
Spalding have suffered just one defeat in their 20 league games so far this season and were too strong for visiting Cambridge on Saturday.
They put on a dominant performance to secure a well-earned victory with a great attacking display and a solid defensive effort.
The home side set the tone early, finding the net just five minutes in.
A well-worked short corner routine saw Evie Maltby fire the ball home, giving Spalding the perfect start.
Spalding continued to pile on the pressure and their persistence paid off when Laura Graves' strike rebounded for Honor Moore to slot home.
Spalding's third goal came from Graves who hit a superb reverse strike from the top of the D.
Spalding ended the first half with a fourth goal coming from a great pass from Karen Timby to Ellie Holland, who played it to the back post for Moore to tap in her second of the match.
At the other end, Spalding’s defence remained rock solid, with goalkeeper Freya Lee keeping a well-deserved clean sheet to cap off a fine team performance.
Spalding have two matches of their season left with an inter-club clash against their second team next on the horizon at Glen Park on Saturday.
The second team are at the other end of the Division 2NW table and are still seeking their first victory of the campaign.
They lost 3-1 at home to Cambridge South 2nds on Saturday after an exciting encounter which was full of intensity and determination from both sides.
Spalding displayed strong play throughout the match, but it was Cambridge South who took the lead with a slip pass into the goal.
Despite conceding early, Spalding responded quickly and showed great resilience.
Shortly after the goal, Spalding earned a short corner and they capitalised on the opportunity.
Grace Hodgett took the responsibility for the set piece and, with precision and composure, she fired the ball into the net to level the score at 1-1 at half-time.
However, Cambridge South regained their advantage with two more goals as the match progressed.
Char Burt showed her amazing confidence by defending the goal for Spalding.
Their defence was pushed but their talents and skills shone through Pippa Bembridge and Steph Wilson.
Spalding continued to push forward, creating several promising opportunities from Erin McMurray, Lauren Spenceley and Kate Amess, but they were unable to break down the Cambridge defence.
Despite their best efforts, Spalding were unable to find the back of the net again and the match ended in a 3-1 defeat.
The ladies third team were beaten 5-2 in their clash with Newarket 2nds at the weekend.
The match started with lots of determination from both teams.
Newmarket began strongly with the first centre but Spalding's defence fought well and Eliza Morris made some great saves before the visitors went a goal up.
Spalding came back fighting with some brilliant play in midfield with Chloe P, Kelly Tizzano and Sam Foston helping bring the ball to the opposition's D where Eloise Doughty tapped it in to level the score.
Unfortunately before half-time, Newmarket managed to score for a 2-1 lead.
After a pep talk from Zoe Moore and Charlotte Morris, the Spalding ladies came back on the pitch with more energy and determination.
In the second half, Terri Robinson pushed Spalding forward, however, Newmarket were able to score once more.
Newmarket stayed strong with some good defending but unfortunately for them that was not enough to keep player of the match Tizzano from scoring from a short corner, making the score 3-2.
After Honor Pearson, Holly Gleaves, Kiki and Poppy Hooker all worked well at stopping many of the Newmarket's attacks, the visitors managed to score two more goals for a 5-2 win.
