Spalding fell to narrow defeat in Merseyside on Saturday afternoon as they lost 1-0 to Marine AFC. A well-placed second-half strike from Ben Darby secured all three points for the hosts against a flawed Tulips side.

It was a sluggish start to the fixture with the weather conditions proving challenging for either side.

The hosts found their first shot at goal through Charlie Jolley whose shot travelled just wide of the Spalding upright.

Just minutes later, loan signing Arjan Raikhy forced a superb stop from Crook, who pushed the ball behind for a corner.

Peter Crook produced another top-quality diving save minutes before half-time, as a shot was rifled from range towards the Spalding net.

The first half ended goalless, with plenty of chances for The Mariners being excellently checked by Peter Crook to keep the hosts out. Spalding lacked any real attacking impetus, which needed to change if they were to leave Merseyside with a result.

A duo of quickfire attempts for Isaac Abankwah followed the commence of the second half; first, a header that was saved calmly by Crook, followed by a curled effort that flew just over the crossbar.

Moments later, a triple change was readied by the Spalding bench which saw Bendle, Sani and Betteka enter the field in an attempt to break the deadlock.

However, on 66 minutes, a loose ball was found by Abankwah who crossed the ball over to Sinclair-Smith, resulting in the ball finding the feet of Ben Darby who delivered a brilliant finish to give the hosts the lead.

Another chance for Darby came before full-time as he tested Peter Crook for a final time, following a mix-up from the Tulips back line.

The full-time whistle sounded and Spalding fell to another league defeat away from home, dropping us to 8th in the league.

FT: Marine AFC 1-0 Spalding United

Photo Credit: Luke Reynolds

Written by Zakk Symonds