The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Spalding Ladies’ 1st 7
St Neots 2nd 0
Goals: Erin McMurray, Evie Maltby, Georgina Maplethorpe, Maisie Foden
The waterlogged pitch did not dishearten Spalding, evidenced through the quick attack from Kate Amess to Lauren Harvey who pushed the ball on to the defender’s foot winning a short corner led to a goal scored from an unstoppable shot by Maltby.
A strike from Ellie Holland allowed McMurray to convert the rebound then not five minutes later McMurray increased her scoring tally, with a strike through the keeper’s legs.
Spalding continued their great play and within the first two minutes of the second half three short corners were won.
A cross bar shot from Maplethorpe narrowly missed the goal until she was able to expertly push the ball over the keeper’s head straight into the net.
Jess Ball continued to battle through the midfield laying off the ball to Foden who scored a well earned goal.
Spalding continued to fight, with another short corner converted by Maltby taking the score to 6-0.
A final attack from Spalding came from Maltby again with her precision slap finding Harvey, who defected the ball to McMurray who completed her hat trick.
Spalding Men’s 1st 5
Cambridge 1st 0
Goals: Dan Azzopardi, Harry Blackman, Stuart Cunnington
Spalding dove headfirst into the game putting high pressure on the opposition; forcing mistakes and lost balls; capitalising on these errors and gaining possession.
It took only ten minutes for a gap to open up for Cunnington to drive the ball into the bottom right corner with a powerful reverse shot.
Spalding continued to apply pressure and after some meticulous passing, the ball was worked into Cambridge’s D where a short corner was won.
The drag from Cunnington was deflected off the keeper towards the back stick where Blackman increased the lead to 2-0 after 14 minutes.
Spalding were feeling invincible going into the second half, waiting patiently to pounce, which happened six minutes in when Harry Naylor zipped a ball into the D for Blackman to slot round the keeper.
Tensions began to rise and a yellow card, green card and temporary injury saw Cambridge down a player multiple times. Cunnington utilised effective dribbling to eliminate multiple defenders in the D and flick the ball into the net for Cunnington’s second goal and Spalding’s fourth.
Finally, Azzopardi joined the score sheet in the final minute with a well-earned goal.
Spalding Ladies’ 2nd 4
Cambridge South 4nd 0
Goals: Charlotte Maplethorpe, Honor Moore
In a spirited encounter, Spalding Ladies’ 2nd faced off against Cambridge South 4th and emerged victorious.
The opening goal came at the ten-minute mark when Maplethorpe displayed exceptional teamwork, capitalising on a precise pass from Karen Timby to slot the ball in.
Not content with one goal, Maplethorpe showcased her skills once again.
Entering the second half with a 2-0 advantage, Moore stepped into the spotlight.
She made her presence known at the 50-minute mark, converting a pass from Timby with a powerful shot into the corner of the goal.
The final goal of the match was a result of an excellent one-two between Timby and Moore, who combined brilliantly to carve through the Cambridge defence.
Moore struck again at the 58-minute mark, securing her second goal.
Spalding Men’s 2nd 3
City of Peterborough 5th 1
Goals: Matt Hulme, Tiago Read, Tim Maltby
Over the first half, Spalding outplayed Peterborough through simple and quick passes which allowed Read to score off a short corner.
Spalding’s domination then started to trickle away allowing Peterborough to equalise just before half time.
Some good quick passing in the second half led to Maltby putting Spalding 2-1 up.
Spalding continued to hunt for a third, with new star Hulme picking up the ball on the penalty spot to slot home Spalding’s third and final goal.
Spalding Ladies 3rd 4
Haverhill 1st 3
Goals: Camille Rogers, Chloe, Grace Hodgett
Spalding began well and made some fantastic moves putting pressure on the Haverhill defence.
Spalding kept attacking, with some great balls through from the back.
Eventually, Spalding were awarded a short corner. Charlotte Morris struck it well and Rogers jabbed at it to ensure it went into the net. However, Haverhill snuck one back a minute later.
In the second half after winning several short corners, Hodgett stepped up and struck one slickly to take the lead.
Again, to the disbelief of Spalding, Haverhill scored again a minute later. And it didn’t take long for Haverhill to use the momentum to their advantage to score again.
Spalding continued to battle and showed some brilliant play – simple pass and move, fabulous dribbling and moves forward and excellent team work especially from Honor Pearson and Chloe Brewster, which resulted in two goals from the always impressive Chloe.
Right at the end another short corner was won but even though it was a great routine, it just missed and the game ended 4-3.
Spalding Men’s 3rd 5
March Town 2nd 5
Goals: Andy Barlow, Ben Scholes, Glenn Richardson
No report received.
Spalding Men’s 4th 2
Wisbech Town 4th 0
Goals: David Burrell, Danny Wright
Spalding 4ths made it back-to-back wins to move up to seventh in the table.
Spalding took the lead in ten minutes when a well worked short corner found Burrell on hand to slot home.
Spalding continued to dominate the game and scored a second goal when Wright broke through to score his first league goal.
Strong defending and game management saw Spalding keeper Rob Callaby with very little to do as the game finished with a comfortable victory.
