East League Division 5NW: Grantham 4 Ely City 3rd 2
Grantham got back to winning ways but will have to make do for some time without captain Oli Phillips who broke his leg in three places during the closing stages of his side’s victory.
The home side went 2-0 up quite quickly with Paul Hollingworth and Benjie Groom getting on the scoresheet, but were pegged back to 2-1 at the break after an attacker broke free and calmly slotted past Will Leadenham.
Ely equalised through a shot from the left of the circle, and there were signs that the match might be about to turn into a fourth straight defeat for the men in red.
Driven on by Phillips, Sam MacAllister and Alex Clark, Grantham pushed hard although they were defending their own line when Phillips was hit.
After his departure they cleared the danger and spent most of the rest of the match attacking. The third goal came when an overload was cleverly worked by Hollingworth, Groom and Clark, leaving Hollingworth a close-range finish.
As Ely pushed hard to get back into the match, Grantham countered and after Clark was fouled by the goalkeeper, MacAllister stepped up and calmly slotted the resulting penalty flick to make sure of all three points.
Goalkeeper Leadenham was named as the Duncan & Toplis man of the match for another commanding performance.
Grantham: Will Leadenham, James Kerr, Nick Wraith, Rob Buxton, David Braunton, Jem Hill, Mark Gray, Oli Phillips (captain), Sam MacAllister, Alex Clark, David Nix, Paul Hollingworth, Benjie Groom
Lincolnshire League
Grantham Ladies 1
Spilsby Ladies 2
Grantham were beaten by the odd goal in three at home to Spilsby in what ended up being a nine-a-side match at The Meres.
After a goalless first half, Grantham went behind after they failed to mark properly at a long corner. The visitors got their second with a powerful turn and shot in the D, giving Grantham’s keeper no chance.
Grantham won a penalty flick after a good move from Kirstin Barney and Smith. Smith volunteered for the high pressure shot, and calmly flicked it into the bottom right of the goal.
The Duncan & Toplis Grantham player of the match was Helen Mawer.