Report: 1st XI Men vs Cambs Nomads 1s – November 15, 2025

Spalding 1s 6 – 1 Cambridge Nomads 1s 

As always Spalding came out the blocks hard with Stu Cunnington turning the screw early with one hard drag flick in the seventh minute followed by a thunderous reverse off the top to make it 2-0 after ten minutes. 

Things were on the up, and Jacob Baker did his best to make the Nomads feel even more alone on their cold night away at Surfleet After a scything run, leaving broken ankles in his path, he sat the keeper down and dinked it over him. Perfect goal Jaco-oh wait look who it is. If it isn’t the goal merchant himself making double-ly sure the ball went in, Dan Azzopardi came in and clatters it home from 5/8ths of an inch out. With that it was 3-0 and 20 minutes had not even passed.

The day only got worse for the Nomads at this point, with Stu Cunnington looming over another short, which he promptly dispatched again to complete his hattrick and top off one of the best halves of hockey we had had this season. Going into the break it was 4-0. 

After a brief halftime tactical chat we headed back out in a new formation which after 15 seconds payed off with Nomads giving us the ball. This set the tone for the next 15-20 minutes with more dominance from Spalding which led to a goal in the 46th minute to make it 5-0, Will Wright finishing off a superb team goal. 

With 13 men we were doing exceptionally well to put the 2nd in the table team to the sword. But at this point our ranks started to falter slightly, despite our captain Sam Howitt making a handful of interceptions followed by a bursting run down the right-hand side. Will Baker picked up a green card. However, our very own Sergeant Grant stepped up to sure up the front line, firing in the final nail in the Nomads coffin. At 63 minutes played it was 6-0.

Things couldn’t have gone much worse for the opposition up to the 67th minute. With three men being sent to the shed for a sit down and a quiet moment of reflection, and no goals to show for it, it had been a rough afternoon. Luckily for them Spalding has always been a generous club. 

Our most notable lovers of charity appeared to be a combination of Oscar and Stu, who came together through the spirit of Ethan’s Temple to donate one goal to a team in need. 

The match ended 6-1, with a clinical masterclass in shorts from Stu dealing the brunt of the damage. 

MOM: Granty

DOD: Will W

Goals: Stu (7’), Stu (10’), Dan (18’), Stu (33’), Will W (46’), Grant (63’)

Well played again lads! There was definitely a team feeling that although we we disappointed to not keep the clean sheet, we knew we put together a proper performance and really dominated a team, who on paper could have been a banana skin.