Spalding United beat St Ives Town in the Southern League Premier Division Central
The excellent efforts of the club volunteers were rewarded by the players on the pitch as Spalding United clocked up a home victory on New Year's Day.
The Tulips had been forced into a clean-up operation after a mindless act of vandalism at the Sir Halley Stewart ground on the eve of their home match with St Ives.
And their efforts proved worthwhile as Spalding ran out 3-1 winners against St Ives in their Southern League Premier Division Central clash.
Goals from Maniche Sani, Bart Cybulski and Joe Nyahwema secured the victory which extended Jimmy Dean side's unbeaten league run to seven games.
Dean was full of praise for the efforts of the club stalwarts in ensuring that the game went ahead.
He said: "They are fantastic people who are all volunteers who do it from the heart. It's really endearing to see how much people care about the club.
"The people who have come in and done this are the scum of the earth. It's pathetic and I hope they get caught and justice is done.
Dean made three changes to his starting line-up following Saturday's home draw with Bromsgrove Sporting.
Liam Moore returned to the ranks after missing a couple of games over the festive period while Sani came back into the fray after a loan spell at Yaxley.
Nyahwema also started with Lewis Hilliard and Darnell Johnson moving to the substitutes' bench while Connor Brown was sidelined.
The visitors started the brighter of the two teams and Josh Allen was sent clear early on but home goalkeeper Tony Breeden was equal to his effort with a smart save in a one-on-one.
It didn't take much longer for St Ives to break the deadlock though as they claimed a 10th minute lead when Allen was again was sent clear and this time made no mistake by sliding his finish beyond Breeden.
Spalding nearly produced an instant response as Joe Nyahwema and Nathan Fox linked well with the latter seeing his well-struck shot saved at the near post by Dan Wilks.
The Tulips then lost Dion Sembie-Ferris to injury in the 27th minute and it was replacement, Khanya Leshabela, who set up the equaliser eight minutes later.
Leshabela played a neat pass into the path of Sani who burst into the box before driving home an emphatic finish.
It set Spalding up for a dramatic finish to the first half as they scored twice in stoppage time for a 3-1 interval lead.
Cybulski put Spalding ahead with a close range finish to turn home a Sam Cartwright shot before Nyahwema unleashed an effort from outside the area that got the better of Wilks to give the Tulips a two-goal cushion at the break.
The double strike looked to have put the game beyond the visitors but they served warning to Spalding that they intended to make the Tulips work for their victory after the break.
Spalding conceded possession cheaply in the opening exchanges and Breeden was forced to claw away a low strike from Amir Hadi.
The Spalding goalkeeper was then down well to smother a free-kick from Allen who then saw a shot deflected into the path of Will Glennon who lifted the follow-up over the home crossbar.
The goal frame then saved Spalding as Alex Collard hooked an effort against the crossbar following a St Ives corner.
Cybulski was inches away from converting a Nyahwema cross at the other end before a rapid break from Spalding saw Breeden's clearance release Nyahwema who brought a good save out of Wilks.
Leshabela dragged a shot just wide while Sani flashed another effort narrowly past the far post as Spalding started to regain control of the contest with the game entering the final 15 minutes.
A last-ditch challenge then denied Sani from a Fox cross as saw Spalding saw out the rest of the match in the ascendency.
Spalding: Breeden, Walker, Fox, Moore, Cartwright, Lawlor, Sembie-Ferris (Leshabela), Freeman (Hilliard), Cybulski, Sani, Nyahwema (Johnson). Sub not used: West.
Attendance: 330.
