Date: Saturday 2nd March 2019
Venue: Craik Park, Morpeth Common, Morpeth, Northumberland, NE61 2YX
Kick Off: 3pm
Competition: Evo-Stik Northern Premier League Division One East
Admission: Adults – £6, Concessions – £4, Under 16’s – Free
Match Coverage: Twitter
Highlights: Highwaymen TV
History
The club was established in 1921 when Spalding Town (who had played in the Peterborough & District League until then) was reformed. The new club continued to play in the Peterborough & District League, which they won in 1930–31. They then stepped up to the Northamptonshire League, which became the United Counties League in 1934.
After World War II they won the Lincolnshire Senior B Cup in 1950–51 and the Senior A Cup in 1952–53. In 1954 they applied to join the Eastern Counties League, but were rejected after a vote. However, the following season they won the UCL for the first time, also winning the League Cup and were accepted into the ECL. In 1960 they switched to the Central Alliance, before joining the Midland League the following season. After finishing bottom in 1967–68 they returned to the UCL. During this period they twice reached the first round of the FA Cup, losing 3–1 at Durham City in 1957–58 and 5–3 at Newport County in 1964–65.
They won the UCL in 1974–75 and after several successive top-four finishes, rejoined the Midland League in 1978. They finished fourth in 1981–82, so were placed in the Premier Division of the Northern Counties East League when it was formed by a merger of the Midland League and the Yorkshire League in 1982. They won the first ever NCEL title with a 1–0 win on the final day of the season. After internal disputes within the NCEL related to the miners’ strike, Spalding rejoined the UCL in 1986 and were champions in 1987–88, resulting in promotion to the Midland Division of the Southern League. After finishing bottom in 1990–91 they returned to the UCL.
After a narrow escape from liquidation in the early 1990s the club won the UCL Cup in 1994–95 and the Premier Division in 1998–99. They were promoted back to the Southern League, but again struggled. Despite finishing bottom in 2000–01 the club avoided relegation as other clubs resigned. However, they finished second from bottom in 2002–03 and were relegated again.
In their inaugural season back at Step 4 of the non-league pyramid in 2014–15, the Tulips finished 7th, a slump in form toward the end of the season killing off any hopes they might have had of reaching the end-of-season play-offs.
Last Match
Morpeth were in action away to Ossett United on Saturday and left South Yorkshire after a fiercely contested game against a side challenging for the play-offs. Chris Reid grabbed the only goal of the game shortly after Adam Priestley who was red carded for two yellows in quick succession.
Spalding entertained local rivals Stamford with the game finishing in a tense 2-2 draw. Rob Morgan had put the visitors ahead in the first half and there was to be no further action until the final 10 minutes. Bradley Wells equalised in the 81st minute only for the Daniels to re-take the lead on 86 minutes when Jake Duffy scored. The Tulips were not to be denied and Wells grabbed his second when netting in injury time.
Manager
Matt Easton: Appointed following the mutual decision of the club to part company with Chris Rawlinson. Easton had served a short caretaker spell before being appointed on a permanent basis.
