Spalding skipper eyes double figures

Tulips skipper Lewis Brownhill is now just three short of his goals target for the season.

A double in the 2-2 draw at Belper Town last Saturday earned him the man of the match award and moved him on to seven for the season, six coming in the league.

And with a third of the season still to go, Brownhill, who plays the number 10 role, is eyeing double figures.

“I enjoyed my goals on Saturday. I don’t get many headers so I was pleased with the first,” he said. “I set myself a target of ten goals at the start of the season. If I can manage to get ten goals in this league I’ll be happy, but obviously I want to get more.”

An 86th minute equaliser salvaged a draw for Belper, leaving the Tulips eighth in the table, one place and one point ahead of Saturday’s Staffordshire hosts, who have played five fewer matches.

It kicks off a tough-looking month for Lewis Thorogood’s side, facing four sides all with plenty to play for. Home matches against play-off hopefuls Belper (February 8) and Carlton Town (29) plus relegation-threatened Chasetown (15) are punctuated by a trip to promotion-chasing Cleethorpes Town (22).

However, Brownhill is confident the Tulips can continue to hold their own. “The club has had its problems this season. We lost Matt (Easton, manager), which was a massive disappointment but Lewis has done well. We lost some good players in George Zuerner, Jenk Acar and Taron Hare – that was inevitable.”

Brownhill admits he never had to entertain the possibility of leaving himself as there were no enquiries.

So he can continue playing alongside younger brother Joel, who’s missed the last four games through injury, and RAF pal Ben Greenwood. Occasionally the brothers’ dad will come and watch the Tulips, but their parents are drawn more often to the more comfortable surroundings of Bristol City, where youngest son Josh is having a stand-out season for the Championship side.