Match Report

Leiston v St Ives Town

BetVictor League Southern Premier Division Central 15-10-19

This game always looked like a potential banana skin for the injury hit Ives, a 200 mile round trip to the home of the rock bottom Blues who were without a win all season on a Tuesday night was certainly not what manager Ricky Marheineke and his patched up charges wanted. But at the end of a real roller coaster of a game that neither side deserved to win it is Ives who will come away least happy with a point as not for the first time this season they conceded a very costly late goal.

With Danny Kelly and Mark Coulson joining the long injury list having picked up knocks Ives supporters were delighted to see a return of Declan Rogers to the fold as the midfielder was signed on the morning of the match to boost the visitors depleted ranks. Rogers came straight into the starting line up alongside Tom Wood in the centre of the park.

The game started slowly with neither side creating a lot in the first fifteen minutes. It was an excellent advantage played by referee Michael Robertson-Tant that allow the first opportunity of the game to emerge and it was a chance that should have seen Ives go in front. Ty Ward was taken down late on the half way line by Louie Bloom but just before his legs were taken from him the left back had set Ben Seymour-Shove away down the left and he teed up the perfect teasing cross to the back post where Dylan Wilson arrived unmarked. He just had to direct his header past the exposed Charlie Beckwith in the home goal, but he got up a little to early and was coming down when the ball arrived and only succeeded in steering his header just over the top.

It looked like Ives injury woes were continuing as three minutes later a sickening clash of heads on the half way line saw Ben Jackson left in a heap with blood seeping onto the turf. Fortunately the busiest physio in the League Jess Guthrie was able to patch him up and he returned to the fray with his head bandaged up as in the infamous Terry Butcher days of old.

But the pattern of play was now swinging against the Ives as the Blues enjoyed a spell on top which saw them gain a two goal advantage in the next fifteen minutes. The danger signs were beginning to show and it took a brave save from Finley Iron plunging in to take the ball off the toe of Robert Eagle as he tried to steer home a low cross from the left by Tom Woerndl. Iron made a more routine save in the 24^th minute as he comfortably claimed Josh Hitter’s free kick from the left edge of the box. But the young stopper had no chance when the hosts went in front only a minute later. Mason Sinclair was given acres of space as he roamed forward from right back with the ball at his feet. As no challenge came in he kept going until he got to the right hand edge of the box before delivering a low cross that Bloom sliding in at the far post turned past Iron.

The same player doubled the Blues advantage ten minutes before the break as he like Sinclair before him was given a little bit to much space inside Ives half. The hosts number eleven strode forward before unleashing a vicious drive that deflected off a defender before finding its way into the top left hand corner of Iron’s net.

Two in front was heady territory for the hosts who had not scored more than a single goal in their previous four home games. Their target had to be to stay two clear until the break. They almost achieved that but not quite as Seymour-Shove’s in-swinging corner from the left was pawed down inside the box by keeper Beckwith. The ball fell to Jarvis Wilson who saw his low drive blocked on the line by Noel Aitkens but Matt Foy showed his strikers instinct to pounce on the loose ball and fire home off the underside of the crossbar to reduce the arrears.

Ives came out for the start of the second half early and showed that they were in determined mood as they wrestled control of the game straight from the off. Aaron Phillips was denied an equaliser by a brilliant one handed diving save from Beckwith only ninety seconds after the re-start.

Referee Robertson-Tant played yet another excellent advantage for Ives equaliser in 49^th minute as Phillips played an exquisite cross field clip to put Seymour-Shove clear coming in from the left. The Ives winger was taken down by James Gaffer but Foy was following up and curled the loose ball around Beckwith to level things up. Gaffer picked up a yellow card for the foul that would almost certainly have been red had the ball not ended up in the net. But it was only a temporary reprieve for Gaffer as he picked up his second yellow card only four minutes later for kicking the ball away after Harry Knights had brought down Wilson in the centre of the park.

Ives have struggled to kill off opponents who have gone down to ten men previously this season but surely they were on their way to a remarkable come back win when Seymour-Shove put them in front just after the hour. Rogers picked out Phillips in space on the right and he put in a teasing cross to the back post where Seymour-Shove arriving at pace fired in a first time effort that Beckwith did well to block but the ball rolled loose allowing Seymour-Shove to gleefully fire it home into the roof of the net.

Having got in front Ives seemed to drop their intensity level a little allowing the ten man Blues to get back into the game. Bloom again tried his luck from long range in 74^th minute and this time his effort was deflected just over the top. But the visitors struggled to clear the resulting corner which was delivered deep to the back post. An eventual attempt to clear the danger saw the ball cannon back into the net off Hitter who was quick to claim the accolades for scoring the equaliser.

Back came Ives again and they were gifted the lead back only three minutes later as keeper Beckwith completely misjudged a deep cross from the right by Jackson allowing Foy to ghost around behind him and claim the match ball as he steered his free header into the empty net.

Having got back in front the visitors then had a golden opportunity to kill off the game five minutes from time Phiilips was again involved as he threaded a ball into the feet of Foy on the edge of the box a clever flick from Foy put substitute Josh Dawkin clear one on one with the keeper a chance that a fully match fit Dawkin would have buried but he is still working his way back up to game speed and although he tried to slide the ball past Beckwith low to his left the big keeper did well and got down smartly to smother the effort.

With the clock ticking down Ives simply had to keep possession and see out the remaining minutes but they seem to be picking up a nasty habit recently of failing to get over the line in these situations. There was a warning of what might be to come in the last of the ninety minutes as big centre back Knights got on the end of a Aitkens free kick and steered in a goal bound header that Iron claimed well. But in the last of the four added minutes a free kick conceded on the half way line cost the visitors two points. With everyone else in and around Ives box Beckwith delivered the ball to the back post where Knights again won the header knocking the ball down into the mix where Aitkens forced it home to spark wild celebrations amongst the hosts supporters as they claimed only their second point of the season.

The point has moved Ives up the table one place to seventeenth but whether it proves to be a good point on the road on a Tuesday night or two valuable points lost remains to be seen. Another vital away trip looms up now as they visit the team one place below them in Alvechurch and with most of the injured still weeks rather than days away from a return to the side anything gleaned from a trip to Lye Meadow will be a bonus.  

Final Score : Leiston  4  St Ives Town  4     

Goals :  Foy 45+2, 48 & 78, Seymour-Shove 62

Team : Iron, Phillips (Woodward 90+2), Ward, Wood (capt), Jackson, Johnson, Jarvis Wilson, Rogers, Foy, Dylan Wilson (Dawkin 78), Seymour-Shove 

Unused subs : Moyes, 

Supporters man of the match : Matt Foy

Attendance : 139

Report by Nigel Howlett. Video by Dave Hook