Spalding Hockey Club round-up
Spalding shrugged off a slow start to return triumphant from their trip to St Ives on Saturday.
The Maroons recorded a 3-1 away win in the East League Division 1N clash despite an opening to the game where they were second to every 50/50 and lacking momentum.
As the minutes ticked by, Spalding started to find their rhythm and upped the pace.
From this point on, Spalding looked the better team and comfortably controlled the game.
Ethan Person got hacked down just past the halfway line after 10 minutes and got to his feet, took the free hit quickly, rounded four defenders, before reaching the top of the St Ives D and quickly dispatching an unstoppable reverse stick strike which found the top left corner.
After the restart, St Ives applied pressure of their own to the Spalding defence.
Spalding dealt with this well with Oscar Haunch making some great saves coupled with great defending from Sam Howitt, James Grant and Will Borst.
Unfortunately, after a controversial decision where the ball was deemed to hit a Spalding foot, a short corner was given and St Ives took advantage and levelled the score.
Spalding reacted quickly, lifted their heads and found their groove again.
With some quick passing, Spalding won a short corner of their own where Stu Cunnington slipped it to the left post and Jacob Baker deflected the ball into the St Ives net.
After the restart, Spalding continued pushing forwards.
St Ives gave Spalding a helping hand by losing a few players in quick succession to the sideline, following a string of green cards.
Spalding punished this with the overload and worked the ball well.
Eventually, they found space on the left side of the pitch where Jacob Baker slapped the ball towards the St Ives penalty spot, allowing Will Baker to confidently deflect it into the home goal.
With the time ticking by, Spalding professionally managed the game to the full time whistle.
The second team went down to a narrow 2-1 home defeat against Pelicans in Division 3NW.
The Maroons had gone into the game looking to seek retribution for the away leg in November that was closely contested.
The first half saw Pelicans more in control with keeper Rob Callaby keeping Spalding in the game.
Even after going 2-0 down, Spalding were struggling to work their way into the match.
After an inspiring half-time talk, Spalding responded by playing much better as a team with a goal from Matt Pottle bringing them back into the game.
However, Pelicans then showed their ability as one of the best midfield teams to hold out for the 2-1 win.
Reuben Rogers made his second team debut for Spalding by putting in a solid performance and didn't look out of place.
The third team lost 4-1 to Division 4NW champions-elect Kettering in a game that was much closer than the scoreline suggests.
The first half was very even after Glenn Richardson equalised following an opening short corner against the run of play for the visitors.
In the second half, Spalding kept the league leaders on edge but a string of misses in front of goal and two defensive lapses handed the visitors a decisive advantage.
Kettering played with aggression and pace throughout and showed why they will win the league.
Richardson saw yellow late on as his frustrations at failing to complete chances got the better of him.
The fifth team travelled to King's Lynn to take on Pelicans' junior development side in a game that was end-to-end and saw great hockey played by both sides.
For once, Spalding had the advantage in having a slightly older side however you would not have thought it against a very well drilled, technically proficient hosts who played without a senior that caused the Maroons several problems during the game.
With the game being split into quarters, Spalding started brightly however the home side took the lead in the first quarter following a short corner routine that saw the ball powerfully flicked home.
Following the first break, Spalding started to really get into the game and forced some short corners with great work from Harry - who had easily his best game for the club - Matt, Will, captain Jake and Dylan but they couldn't get the final shot away and the no further goals were added in the second quarter.
The third quarter saw Spalding build in confidence as they started to play some excellent free flowing hockey.
The pleasing element was the way that the moves were being built from the back by using the channels effectively and they equalised with the team's goal of the season so far.
Alex, who had an excellent game at right back, sent the perfect ball down the right-hand flank to joint man of the match Isaac.
He then combined brilliantly with the tireless Dylan and Will that saw one and two touch passing and moving into space that ultimately saw the ball crossed to the impressive Cheston and his first time shot nestled into the bottom left-hand goal and Spalding were at parity with their hosts.
This move came after an excellent short corner routine that saw Will's initial shot saved on the line illegally and a penalty stroke awarded.
A superb save from the goalkeeper saw the shot saved however it was credit to the young side that their heads didn't drop.
It left the game all square at the end of the third quarter and it was evenly balanced.
However, the fourth quarter proved to be end-to-end and exciting for the spectators.
Pelicans retook the lead with a wonderful reverse stick shot that dipped nicely underneath the bar, however, the travelling side never let their heads drop.
In fact, they dug deep into their reserves and equalised through Will's close range forced effort after a period of sustained pressure and gave the Spalding forward a well-deserved goal.
It got even better when they took the lead when the other joint man of the match, Jake, scored with a great finish following another flowing move to give the Spalding captain only his second ever goal at 11-a-side.
Spalding held out under pressure as the home side tried to find an equaliser but it was not to be for them.
