Match Report

Barwell v St Ives Town

Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central  14-11-2022

The clinical finishing of the in-form Canaries ensured Ives got nothing from their Monday night trip to Leicestershire despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession throughout this game. All three goals from the hosts came from Ives losing the ball high up the park and on each occasion the hosts speedy strikers punished them.

There was not unexpected bad news from Ives prior to kick off with both Kane Lewis and Ravi Shamsi not making the trip after picking up knocks on Saturday. That was added to with an unexpected absentee as Nabil Shariff had also not made it with illness. To counter this Greg Kaziboni returned to the starting line up after a month on the side lines, Dylan Williams and Enoch Andoh also stepped up from the bench. But the Ives were still left with only three substitutes. The hosts made two changes from their 1-1 draw with Bromsgrove 48 hours earlier with George Ward coming in for Roger Lee at the back and Jack Deakin replacing Shaquille Master at the other end of the pitch.

The visitors started the game at a good pace applying early pressure high up the pitch disrupting the Canaries plans to play the ball out from the back. This plan created an early half chance in sixth minute when Michael Richens robbed Sid Kerr to set up a shooting opportunity for Kaziboni but his well struck effort from 25 yards was straight at home keeper Andy Wycherley.

Similar tactics worked again six minutes later to give Andoh the chance to feed in Johnny Herd on the overlap. But again the full back’s crisp drive from the corner of the box was straight into the midriff of keeper Wycherley.

The hosts opener in 16^th minute was a perfect example of how to break at pace and finish clinically. Ives lost possession deep inside the Canaries half and the ball was fed out to Beck-Ray Enoru on the half way line. As Herd came to close him down a clever flick past the full back saw the winger sprint away down the right touch line. Jordan Williams came across to try and cover but equally fell to the pace of Enoru. The wide man got to the bye line and picked out his skipper Brady Hickey arriving at the near post a simple flick from the in-form striker gave him his seventh goal in the last six league games and put the Canaries in front.

Not daunted by falling behind Ives returned to pressurising the hosts and another half chance came their way in 24^th minute. A poor defensive header from Deen Master allowed Kaziboni to set up Richens for a shot from the edge of the box that deflected just wide off a defender. The Ives skipper was unfortunate to pick up his sixth yellow card of the season ten minutes later as his attempted cross appeared to be blocked by the arm of Master who came away with the ball Richens did well to chase back and appeared to win the ball cleanly but referee Elliott Kaye deemed otherwise and produced the card.

Ives were almost caught out again by a Canaries break seven minutes before half time. Again the ball was fed across to Enoru who found himself one on one against an unsupported Herd. This time he took on the full back on the inside and burst past into the box before firing in a low shot that keeper James Goff did well to block with his body.

Lesson not learnt the visitors fell further behind to yet another speedy break right on half time. Once more possession was lost with them on the attack and again the ball was fed down the park but this time the Canaries went left with Hickey sliding the ball through into the run of Jahvan Davidson-Miller who burst into the box and beat Goff with a fierce low drive which found the bottom corner of the net.

Ives needed to find a way back into the contest quickly and they did just that in the simplest fashion five minutes after the restart. Herd delivered one of his trademark long throws from the left that flicked off a defender in the goalmouth melee. The ball dropped to Callum Milne at the back post who hooked it home from six yards.

Now back in the contest Ives still had to be very much aware of the threat that the hosts posed on the break. They went close again in 63^rd minute as a long ball almost put Davidson-Miller clear, Jordan Williams did just enough to recover and block the shot out for a corner. They had a very fortunate let off from Master’s flag kick from the right as centre back Kyle Rowley somehow managed to arrive unmarked in the centre of goal, but he equally inexplicably failed to hit the target with his free header.

After that let off Ives enjoyed a good period of pressure as they searched hard for the equaliser. Edwards fired a metre or so wide having worked the chance well himself by bringing down a long ball and jinking inside in 67^th minute. A series of Ives corners followed soon after but without anything coming from them. The next chance fell to substitute Kieran Higgs in 76^th minute, Andoh cleverly fed the ball into his run into the box from the left, side step left and right to create the space but the shot from 15 yards flew just wide of Wycherley’s left hand post.

The Canaries had to thank keeper Wycherley for retaining their slender lead only moments later. Andoh brilliantly tricked his way past two defenders down the left, got to the bye line and picked out Edwards unmarked eight yards out at the back post with his teasing cross. The Ives centre forward followed the text book by heading the ball powerfully back in the direction that the keeper had just vacated as he tried to get across his line to cover, but the athletic stopper twisted in mid air to hurl himself low to his right and get just enough of a hand on the strikers effort to keep it out.

Although they continued to apply the pressure that proved to be Ives last real chance to get anything out of the evening and the Canaries killed them off five minutes from time in similar fashion to their earlier goals as another ball fed down the park gave Master chance to deliver a cross to the near post where Melis Bushaj glanced it home clinically to make it a long journey home for the visitors.

It was a tired looking side that tramped off the Barwell 3G at the end of the evening and it looks like physio Jardaine Patel-Joseph may be a busy man trying to patch up a competitive side ahead of the visit of Needham Market to the quattro tech Westwood Road on Saturday. 

Final Score: Barwell   3    St Ives Town  1

Goals: 

BARWELL: Hickey 16, Davidson-Miller 45, Bushaj 85

ST IVES: Milne 50

Team Line Ups:

BARWELL: Wycherley, M. Edwards, D. Master, Kerr, Rowley, Ward, Enoru, Bushaj, Davidson-Miller, Hickey (capt), Deakin, Unused subs: S. Master, Lawson, Nassanculo, Lee, Painter

ST IVES: Goff, Milne (Lembikisa 86), Herd, Richens (capt), J. Williams, Johnson, Kaziboni (Baker 54), Hottor, J. Edwards, D. Williams (Higgs 67), Andoh, Unused subs: Lembikisa, D. Williams, Kaziboni, Johnston

Cards: Yellow: BARWELL: D. Master (84)        ST IVES: Richens (35), Andoh (59), J. Williams (90)

IVES SUPPORTERS MAN OF THE MATCH:  Jonny Edwards

Attendance:  204

Report by Nigel Howlett. Video by Ollie Jones.