Hubbard praises strike pairing

Spartans midfielder Craig Hubbard may well have scored two penalties in the 4-2 win over Stafford Rangers but the former West Auckland man was quick to deflect any praise towards striker partnership Andy Jennings and Dan Maguire. Manager Tom Wade reunited the classic big man-little man pairing to great effect as the power of Jennings and pace of Maguire caused the Rangers defence all sorts of problems and they both recieved praise from Hubbard.

He said "I have to say the front two were outstanding. Young Dan with his little touches and work rate and Andy was a real handful for them. Today they worked really well together. It suits Dan down to the ground playing alongside a big man, in my eyes those two won us the game because they were excellent together as a partnership."

Spartans have remarkably been awarded fourteen penalties this season and that includes five in the last three games. Hubbard has now scored five out of five and he joked that that was a record he should have had the chance to extend last weekend in the win over Worksop Town when Spartans missed two spot kicks.

He said "I'm definitely getting more confident with the penalties and it's great to see them go in. Maybe I should have been on them last week. It's just nice to see them go in and to be fair we have worked well as a team to win them."

With just six games of the season left Hubbard was keen to stress that everyone in the Spartans changing room is determined to end the season on a high and ensure that manager Wade has a solid base to work from as he prepares for his first full season in permanant charge.

He revealed "Tom and John are always talking about next season and building towards a better finish. The dressing room is together and the lads all get on really well. Maybe we haven't shown it in terms of results but the team spirit and fight is definitely there. We are trying to show that on the pitch and finish the season off well."