Spalding Hockey Club round-up
Spalding secured their first victory of the season after a 2-1 success against St Ives in a massive game at the bottom of the East League table on Saturday.
The game started at a fast intensity with both teams going at each other but near misses from Stuart Cunnington and Jacob Baker from short corners saw the first half end goalless.
The second half started just as the first did, with both teams putting in strong challenges and creating chances.
The opener eventually came after a succession of St Ives short corners where the ball was nicely drag-flicked into the bottom corner.
However, Spalding responded in true style as Cunnington's perfectly placed drag flick saw the Maroons equalise and gain the momentum.
Three green cards in quick succession then put Spalding on the back foot but their defence proved to be solid as they kept the scores level.
As Spalding grew back into the game again, their domination eventually paid off after a crash ball saw a scrappy goal roll into the net.
The Spalding players then showed their experience by doing an excellent job in keeping the ball, allowing them to see the game out.
A special moment after the final whistle saw all the squad come together in a huddle celebrating their first win since the passing of their team-mate Joe Higgins.
It was a show of strength and unity with all members, including ones out injured, part of it to epitomise the bond the team has.
Spalding 2nds went down to a narrow 3-2 away loss at Pelicans.
The first half was quite back and forth until Pelicans won a short corner which they were able to dispatch to take the lead.
Not to be deterred, Spalding kept their heads on to pen Pelicans back for a spell of pressure where Tim Maltby pounced on the baseline to work the ball around the defenders and slip his shot past the outcoming keeper to level the scores.
In a balanced half, Pelicans proved to be clinical from short corners to put them into the lead going into half-time.
The second half continued like the first with Pelicans aiming to press high, leading to periods where Spalding had to deal with pressure before springing counter attacks or having their own periods of holding onto the ball.
On one counter attack working down the left side of the pitch, Spalding again made the baseline before coming out to Olly Roy at the top of the D who got a yard from the defender and hit a low strike that was too awkward for the keeper to keep out.
Both teams knew a win was possible until Pelicans won another dreaded short corner.
A much more dubious goal came this time with shouts and claims from Spalding that the ball deflected off the attacker's leg before going in, leading to the keeper being yellow carded for the remaining eight minutes.
Even at 10 men, and nine for two minutes, Spalding gave it their all by pushing for a goal that just would not come.
A disappointing first half performance saw Spalding 3rds beaten by four goals in their match at Kettering 2nds.
They had already been beaten by Kettering's third team a few weeks prior to Saturday and conceded the first goal from a short corner which was given for a foot outside the D.
It was then 2-0 after a deflected goal before Kettering added a third from a reverse stick volley into the bottom corner.
The bad luck continued with a goal at the last moment of the half which was well worked.
Spalding showed more fight after the break and forced a few short corners but to no avail.
There were few chances for either team due to good defensive work from Paul Pearson and Marco Mendoza along with man of the match Tom Eve.
Spalding's fifth team shared the spoils after playing out a 1-1 draw in a competitive friendly with Newmarket.
Spalding Ladies stretched their unbeaten streak in Division 2NW of the East League to eight games after a 3-1 home success against Cambridge South 2nds on Saturday.
The Maroons started off the first 15 minutes of the game unusually unsettled and conceded the opening goal.
Not to be deterred, captain Charlotte Maplethorpe settled her team down and the structure reformed, despite Sophie Wilson being awarded a green card for a surprisingly harsh tackle.
With 10 players on the pitch, Spalding maintained possession and a short corner was won and converted by player of the match Laura Graves after a slick one-two routine with Ellie Holland.
Holland was then shown a green card as the teams went into half-time on level terms.
Spalding reviewed their formation at the break with the intention of winning the game and a spectacular solo run led to an amazing second goal from Graves.
Cambridge South came back as strongly as they could but a stick save from Freya Lee, a goal line clearance from Evie Maltby and some fantastic tracking back from Karen Timby allowed Spalding to keep the lead.
They sealed the win in the last minutes of the game as a short corner was awarded and Timby produced her classic straight strike into the back of the net.
Spalding 2nds went down to a four-goal reversal against City of Peterborough 3rds.
The team were eager to try a new formation and player of the match Camille Rogers responded to the new strategy with ease.
Similarly, lots of connected play in midfield was witnessed throughout, which created chances in the D for Spalding, however, this was not converted to goals.
Spalding were solid in defence and kept the scoreline down with some great saves from Freya Lee.
The Maroons were able to implement their high press as practiced in training earlier in the week however, when half-time came, they were two goals down.
Peterborough added two further goals after the break but Spalding fought to the very end and, going forward, they will look to work on short corners and continue to build on their field play.
The ladies' third team recorded their best result of the campaign after a 4-0 victory against Wisbech 3rds.
From the start, Spalding dominated the game by moving the ball around and they took the lead when Terri Robinson lifted the ball over the goalkeeper's stick to break the deadlock.
The ladies continued their domination after the break and doubled their lead when a penalty flick was scooped over the goalkeeper.
Wisbech found some drive and tried to pull the score back but couldn't get past the strong Spalding defensive line up.
Chloe P added the third goal with 10 minutes remaining when she was able to sneak the ball past the Wisbech goalkeeper after Spalding had been awarded a short corner.
She then completed the scoring with her second goal of the game and Spalding's fourth as the team continued to go from strength to strength.
