Spalding 1s 2 – 4 Cambridge South 1s
A feisty gritty encounter at Glen Park saw Spalding slip to a 4-2 defeat to the hands of Cambridge South. A bright start from Spalding saw them rewarded with a penalty corner and Stu Cunnington found the bottom corner to give the home side the lead. Some Ill discipline from the young side saw them twice going to down to ten men as Grooby and W Baker were shown greens. This encouraged South to press and they were rewarded when a shot from the top of the D flew through four bodies and found the bottom corner.
At the start of the second half a rapid break from the South forward line saw some desperate defending and unfortunately Cunnington was adjudged to have cleared the ball with the back of his stick. South took the lead 2-1 as the stroke found the roof of the net. Oscar Haunch kept Spalding in the game with a series of fine saves but a smart deflection infront of him found the back of the net as Spalding were caught out on the break looking for the equaliser.
Spalding then lost defenders Will Baker and Sam Howitt to injures. This saw South explore gaps in the defence and a makeshift backline couldn’t hold out as South again on the break made it 4-1 with a smart finish from the forward. A further green card from Jacob Baker and a yellow for Dan Azzopardi saw the home side struggle to gain any momentum to make a comeback.
Spalding kept battling and working hard as a unit and this was rewarded with a goal which reduced the score to 4-2. A wonder first time touch from Steve Rodgers found Azzopardi and despite him being denied by the keeper twice, Jacob Baker rifled the ball into the roof of the net. Spalding continued to press and work the ball to make the game a grandstand finish but the final pass went missing and Cambridge held on to secure the win.
MoM – Brendan Morris
DoD – Stuart Cunnington