This was a week where everyone associated with Belper Town Football Club pulled together after flooding caused by storm Franklin completely covered the Raygar Stadium just days before this fixture.

But the community spirit on display was stronger than any flood, and miraculously due to the hard work of many people the Nailers fixture versus Spalding was business as usual.

If anyone deserved a win this week it was the fans.

And the Nailers started strongly and were unlucky not to find themselves leading in the first five minutes.

Burton Albion loanee Jakub Niemczyk powerfully burst down the left wing before blasting his cross to the far post where Brodie Litchfield controlled the ball beautifully before firing his shot across goal, but Michael Duggan got down quickly to his right to deny the Nailers.

Again Niemczyk seemed to be Belper’s brightest spark. In the 30th minute, the winger powerfully burst deep into the Tulips’ half taking on several players in the process, before firing his shot well over the bar.

In the 33rd minute the deadlock was broken in sensational style. Spalding were controversially awarded a free kick 30 yards out from goal and Ben Starkie stepped up and curled the dead ball straight into the top right corner.

Only four minutes later the Nailers were awarded a free-kick of their own from 30 yards out. Karl Demidh stepped up and curled his effort around the wall before the ball cannoned out against the left post.

Belper were lucky not to find themselves two goals down in the 57th minute after Tiago Nassunculo closed down Lewis Gwilliams’ kick which the forward successfully blocked, but fortunately for the Nailers the ball rolled inches past the post.

Grant Black used all three of his subs before the 71st minute in an attempt to change the game, and one of his subs nearly did just that.

Sam Wright picked up a loose ball on the edge of the box and tried to curl it into the far corner, but his shot didn’t quite curl enough and went off target by a matter of inches.

In the 79th minute the Tulips were awarded a penalty after the referee deemed Lewis Gwilliams to have brought down substitute Dylan Edge inside the area.

Gregg Smith stepped up and blasted the spot kick down the middle of the goal making it 2:0 to the visitors.

The Nailers finally managed to get a goal in the 87th minute thanks to fullback Josh Woodcock. Woodcock picked up a loose ball just inside the area before firing his left footed shot low and hard into the bottom right corner.

This gave Belper hope of completing a late comeback and all eleven players went forward in search of that glorious equaliser.

Alex Peterson went closest to finding the leveller for the Nailers after he cleverly flicked on a Craig Nelthorpe cross, but Duggan did well in the Spalding goal to hold onto Peterson’s effort.

Belper Town: Gwilliams, Woodcock, Nelthorpe, Mancinelli (Wright 60), South, Jordan, Litchfield (Curtis 71), Robson, Gibson (Peterson 60), Demidh, Niemczyk. Unused subs: Wilson, Beejer.

Spalding United: Duggan, Floyd, Bucci, Marshall, Stainfield, Cartwright, Seymour-Shrove (Edge 65), Broccoli, Smith, Starkie (Withers 84), (Macleod 65). Unused subs: Roroma, Lynch.

Attendance: 460

Referee: Ben Robinson