Depleted ranks pull off fine win

Norwich Dragons 1st 3
Spalding Men 1st 4
A spirited performance from a depleted Spalding side saw them earn the points in an East Men Division One North thriller.
Six players were unavailable due to illness and injuries so it meant recalls for the evergreen Steve Rogers (54), Matt Sanders (49) and a place on the bench for manager Jason Naylor (54). To aggravate their problems, they also lost Harry Naylor due to an injury in training.
Despite that, the league leaders flew out of the traps and raced into a 2-0 lead inside 15 minutes with two penalty corners from Stuart Cunnington.
A mistake at the back allowed Norwich back into the game with a smart reverse stick finish. The hosts continued to apply pressure and won a penalty stroke due to a mistimed tackle from Phil Callow. This was despatched despite the best efforts of Oscar Haunch in goal.
Spalding managed to regroup and won another penalty corner, which Jacob Baker buried into the bottom corner for a 3-2 half-time lead.
A lapse of concentration allowed Dragons to win a penalty corner to make it 3-3 with five minutes to go.
Spalding showed great resilience and desire to dig out one more chance and it turned out to be the goal of the day. It started in defence and a magic touch from Darren Grooby found man of the match Cunnington in the D and he coolly rounded the goalkeeper to score.
A last minute save from Haunch from a penalty corner ensured Spalding travelled home with three points.

Spalding Men 2nd 8
Bourne Deeping 2nd 1
Early pressure brought rewards to set Spalding well on the way for a big win in Division Three North West.
Adolfo Chantre finishing neatly to open the scoring, James Grant converted a penalty corner and a third goal quickly followed when Grant slotted home his second.
Bourne Deeping pulled one back before the interval but the second half was one-way traffic with further goals from Tim Maltby, Tom Pilgrim, Finley Roy and Tiago Read before Grant finished off his hat-trick with the final goal.

Cambridge City 7th 4
Spalding Men 3rd 0
Spalding created some early chances and were well in the game at half-time, despite falling behind 15 minutes before the break.
However, City continued their strong game into the second half and controlled the game with accurate passing around the pitch.
Spalding started to get tired while chasing the game and Cambridge added three more goals.

Spalding Men 4th 2
Cambridge South 1
Spalding were looking for a boost to their Division Five North West season after being handed a free week.
They got it with a win over Cambridge South after having suffered defeats in all three of their league matches so far this season.
They had to do it the hard way though, hitting back from conceding the first goal.
However, the balance of play was with Spalding and they were rewarded before half-time when Fred Morris slotted home a goal.
The second half followed a similar pattern and late on a bursting run from Simon Goode saw some good inter-passing finished off by Lorenzo Mendoza.
Spalding Ladies 1st 1
Cambridge City 4th 0
Spalding started with positive heads from a fantastic win the previous week and were strong on the ball from the off in their East Women’s Division Two North West match.
Spalding managed to keep it to 0-0 at half-time and the team talk from captain Ellie Holland was positive and motivational.
The hosts emerged for the second half full of energy, wanting the ball.
What proved to be the only goal of the game came after Georgina Maplethorpe passed through to Amy Naylor. She took the ball past the Cambridge defence and into the top of the D to win a short corner. The injection was straight to player of the match Evie Maltby and she slapped the ball straight through the goalkeeper’s legs into the goal.

Spalding Ladies 2nd 5
Ely City 2nd 1
Spalding are firmly on the tails of the early Division Three North West leaders after hitting back from behind in style.
Ely took an early lead, to put Spalding on the back foot. However, they responded swiftly and decisively with Charlotte Maplethorpe quick to reply with a goal, capitalising on a well-placed pass from Karen Timby.
Kelly Slater unleashed a powerful strike to propel the team into a 2-1 lead after 25 minutes and player of the match Timby slotted in her first goal of the match shortly after the second half began, with an assist from Maplethorpe.
Sophie Wilson extended Spalding’s advantage thanks to Timby, who showcased her prowess with a spectacular top-corner strike.

Kettering 3rd 1
Spalding Ladies 3rd 1
Spalding worked hard to charge forward and confuse the opposition in their Division Four North West encounter.
A successful hit out from the back found its way to the attacking D where a short corner was awarded.
After a few rebounds Terri Bateman managed to slot it over the line to make it 1-0.
With about 10 minutes to go, a short corner was awarded to Kettering and somehow it slipped past the defence to make it 1-1.