Positive progress, but Tulips beaten under the lights.

After two wins in a row, spectators were in a positive mood for the visit of Leiston. But with four first choice players suspended or injured (Lamine Sherif’s double-yellow dismissal has not kicked in yet) JD had to throw in new signing Kieron Freeman at right back in place of Brown, and introduce Khanya Leshabela in midfield. Freeman appeared to be fully integrated into the team from the start, working well with Connor Tomlinson on the right.

The early exchanges included a corner at each end, but our front two, Cybulski and Tomlinson initially seemed to lack support. Some wrong choices in attack weakened their efforts. In defence, a missed clearance found Breeden not at home, as a long Leiston shot rolled agonisingly towards the empty goal, just clearing the far post.

Up front, the crosses were now coming in from both flanks. Bartosz received two excellent crosses in quick succession, one headed strongly, but saved by the keeper, another volleyed hard, but also saved. He netted from one cross, but we could all hear the thud of ball on arm just as he shot. So, sadly did the ref.

Spalding were dominating the game now, building progressively with controlled passes, one of which provided Hilliard with a good chance. A good cross from Sherif provided Tomlinson with a header, but this just added to the keeper’s list of great saves. Sherif tried a speculative long shot from the right wing…worth a try. This was our best period of play, not just in this game, but in this league so far. But Spalding’s bubble was to burst…a scuffed clearance from an outfield player, and Leiston pounced…leaving the Tulips one down at half time. To add to the supporters’ chagrin, the referee turned down a penalty shout in the final seconds of the half.

The Tulips’ dominance did not carry over into the second half. Frustration mounted amongst the supporters as out defence backed off from a Leiston attack down their left which led to a well worked second goal. Now the shed was singing We’re going to beat you three two, and there were signs of hope, but Spalding attacks, although determined, were not consistent, there was still a lot of defending to be done.

Bartosz was everywhere, left wing, right wing, deep in defence when needed, as well as offering himself as a target man when the opportunity arose. The Leiston keeper had a great game, dammit, saving from Winters (brought on for the final quarter) among others. Then came Hilliard’s corner from the right, slammed in by Cybulski who trapped, turned and shot (six goals from six games), setting up hope for a draw at the end.

For the neutral, a good game to watch, with the whole width of the pitch in use, end to end play, and two well matched teams. But neutral soccer fans are hard to find. Just look at the league table, and see where we could be now!