Spalding United take on Halesowen Town in the Southern League Premier Division Central

Victory over a promotion rival in a huge game for Spalding United on Saturday would be the perfect time for the Tulips to kick-start another unbeaten run.

Jimmy Dean's side saw their 11-match undefeated streak in the Southern League Premier Division Central come to an end after a 2-1 away reversal at Banbury United on Saturday.

They now host fourth-placed Halesowen who are eight points above Spalding in the league standings on Saturday with Dean targeting a return to winning ways.

He said: "We had our unbeaten run taken away from last weekend so we've got to get back on it - it's as simple as that.

"We haven't got the points on the board like the other sides have, so if we want to get into the play-offs, then we need to get back on the horse quickly.

"It doesn't mean we've got to win every game but we can't be messing around and a victory on Saturday would certainly help us."

Spalding are hoping their current injury crisis will ease ahead of the crunch clash with the Yeltz.

The raft of unavailability forced Spalding to withdraw from the Lincolnshire Senior Cup in midweek ahead of their cancelled semi-final clash with Scunthorpe United.

Connor Brown and Kieron Freeman have both missed the last couple of matches due to injury while Liam Moore has been unavailable due to a family emergency.

Sam Cartwright has been protecting a hamstring injury by not training between weekend games while Glenn Walker also picked up a knock last Saturday.

Spalding had hoped to rearrange their clash with Dean's former club with both clubs agreeing on a date early next month.

However, it fell outside of the Lincolnshire Football Association's end of February cut-off date to maintain the integrity of the county cup competitions.

Dean explained: "We have got a lot of injuries at the moment so it would have been a case of strapping up players to play.

"It would have been a huge risk because, if it had gone wrong, we would have been in big trouble for Saturday's game.

"We agreed an alternative date that Scunthorpe were happy with but unfortunately that didn't comply with the rules of the Lincolnshire FA.

"We've got to have a nearly perfect run-in until the end of the season and Saturday's game at Banbury showed that, if we've got key players out, then we're not the same side.

"I couldn't risk losing three or four players ahead of a game against a side like Halesowen or, even worse, for a prolonged period if we had forced the fixture."

Spalding go into Saturday's clash in 11th place after the midweek round of league matches.

They were leapfrogged by Royston Town after their home win over second-placed Bedford Town but both league leaders AFC Telford and much-fancied Kettering Town dropped points.

The table-topping Bucks were held to a 1-1 home draw by lowly Biggleswade while Kettering went down to a 1-0 away loss at Banbury.

Dean added: "The league is so close and I think that the results will be like that until the end of the season.

"It's a tight league and I think that the side which gets their strongest team out consistently and avoids injuries will probably go well."

Spalding were beaten by Halesowen in their first league meeting of the season with Kieron Donnelly netting an injury-time winner for the Yeltz after Jordan Ponticelli had cancelled out Connor Tomlinson's opener for the Tulips.

The West Midlands side have lost just once in their last five outings after bouncing back from three successive defeats over the festive period.

Dean said: "Halesowen are a good footballing side who will come and play against us.

"They are probably the best side I've seen since I've been at the club.

"They've got a good side and are in a league position where we want to be.

"I will make it that simple for the players - if we want to get where they are then we've got to try and beat them."

Saturday's home match is then followed by back-to-back away games for the Tulips as they travel to Leiston on Saturday, February 15, before the rearranged trip to Bishop's Stortford on Tuesday, February 18.