Match Report

Mickleover v St Ives Town

Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central  27-08-2022

Ives first ever visit to Derbyshire ended in an amazing defeat that was hard to take for all that made the trip. Despite the hosts only managing to keep eleven players on the pitch for the first quarter of this game and going down to nine men three minutes before the break they still managed to bag all three points against a visiting side seemingly bereft of ideas how to break down the hosts gallant rear guard action. When Ives finally got their noses in front with twelve minutes to go they made the criminal mistake of thinking that they had completed the task, switched off and gifted Sports two late goals to send the disbelieving home fans into raptures.

It all started so well for the visitors going one up in their very first jaunt into the hosts box in third minute. The ever-willing Jonny Edwards out battled James Butler to take possession of a hopeful ball into the box from Dylan Williams. Butler fought back to get a touch, but his keeper Jonathan Hedge was a little slow off his line to close down the loose ball allowing Edwards to toe poke it home.

Hedge made amends four minutes later as he pulled off a fantastic reaction save to prevent Edwards doubling the advantage. Greg Kaziboni got down the right and hung-up a cross to the back post where Edwards met it cleanly. Hedge did brilliantly plunging low to his left to keep the ball out with Butler just scrambling the loose ball away before Edwards following up could prod it home.

Sports were looking a little rattled with their own supporters getting on their backs as things were not going their way. One, or, two heavy tackles were delivered on Ives players as they were moving the ball around well and looking sharp at this point in the game. A cynical tackle from Will Fankwe on Myles Cowling in tenth minute saw the hosts number seven pick up the game’s first yellow card. 

The hosts took a long time to settle into the game and their first effort at goal in 19^th minute was a speculative lob from 40 yards by Mason Warren that had the out of position James Goff scrambling back to thankfully wave it over the bar.

The heavy challenges from Sports still continued and a scything tackle from Rhys Dolan on Julien Saka picked up their second yellow of the day in 23^rd minute but worse was to follow two minutes later as Elliott Reeves went in with his studs up on Cowling to earn himself a straight red card from referee Ian Jackson.

Strangely enough it was from this point where they went down to ten men that Sports seemed to come back into the game. They were very unlucky not to work an equaliser five minutes later as referee Jackson pulled back play for a free kick to the hosts with Andrew Dales running clear onto Beavon’s clever flick.

The equaliser did arrive in 36^th minute with the same two players involved Dales grabbing possession off Cowling deep in Ives territory before feeding Beavon’s run into the box the hosts number ten finishing well with his left foot.

The ten man hosts were now getting on top and it took a brilliant defensive header from skipper Michael Richens to prevent Dales getting on the end of a deep cross from the right by full back Ethan Mann two minutes later.

With half time approaching and both sides looking keen to get in for the break and re-assess their options Fankwe mindlessly gave his team mates a needless extra burden for the second 45 minutes. Cowling was trying to break over half way when the hosts midfielder seemingly forgot that he was already on a yellow card and flew in with a tackle that took all man and no ball giving referee Jackson a very simple decision to award the second yellow smartly followed by the red. Fankwe slunk off with abuse from his shell shocked team mates ringing in his ears.

Half time talk amongst Ives fans was all around how we were surely going to be able to beat nine men with the more bullish even suggesting a very handsome victory. But teams at this level are never going to roll over and die and the host’s gallant nine were shaped up into a formation of seven men and the keeper defending their box and just the lone figure of Beavon left up front. 

Beavon was always a willing runner and he played his part in holding up the ball well whenever he could. He set up the first opportunity after the break in 63^rd minute when he managed to feed in Dales getting forward and the midfielder should probably have done better blazing over from just inside the box.

Not surprisingly Ives were enjoying lots of possession but their build up play was ponderous and a little one dimensional allowing the battling hosts to snuff out their attacks before they found their way into the box. Longer range shot were either way off target, or blocked by the bodies of defenders. 

The hosts defended so effectively that it took until 72^nd minute before Ives carved out their first real chance against the nine men. Kaziboni got outside his man down the right before delivering a dangerous bouncing cross that Edwards arriving at pace at the back post was just unable to force home. 

The goal when it finally came arrived courtesy of a little bit of magic from Edwards who claimed his sixth in five games courtesy of excellent control and a clever turn and shot from the edge of the box that curled past the outstretched hands of the diving Hedge and found the top corner of the net.

Now we all expected the nine men to cave in and concede defeat but these Derbyshire boys are built of stern stuff and they rolled their sleeves up and knuckled down to keep battling to the end but even they could not have expected Ives to gift them two goals in the closing stages to present them with all three points. 

The first gift came with six minutes left on the watch when two Ives substitutes decided to take a needless quick short corner before defensive cover had been put in place. To compound Enoch Andoh’s error in taking the kick Andrew Osei-Bonsu then lost possession allowing the ball to be fed down the right where Sports substitute Marcus Marshall picked it up before cutting inside and lashing the ball past the exposed Goff from just inside the box.

The nine men now had their tales up and went in search of a winner and it took a good save from Goff to prevent Marshall putting the hosts in front two minutes later.

Ives had one chance to win it in 90^th minute as substitute Tyrone Baker got down the right before delivering teasing cross to the back post where Nabil Shariff tried to raise his foot to knock home the ball when a stooping header may have been the better option, needless to say he lifted the ball over the top with the keeper beaten.

Ives committed their second big clanger which ensured that they went home with nothing two minutes into added time. The usually reliable Callum Milne needlessly fouled the battling Beavon 35 yards out giving Sports a chance to load the box. Whether rattled by his initial error in giving away the free kick, or not, we will never know but Milne made a complete hash of the resulting ball into the box swinging his right leg at it but making poor contact the ball dropping to a disbelieving Dolan who slammed home from ten yards to send a roar up at the Don Armott Area that was probably heard sixteen miles away in Derby. The hosts still had to survive a further added five minutes but by now the stuffing had been knocked out of Ives. The sights at the final whistle made it look like a cup final as one side and their fans began celebrations that looked likely to last well into the night and the other slumped to the ground in disbelief as much as anything.

The only good thing is that with a big Bank Holiday game looming against their old rivals Diamonds in only 48 hours time they have not got long to dwell on this game. Sports on the other hand will hope that this unlikely victory will kick start their season.

Final Score: Mickleover  3  St Ives Town  2       

Goals: 

MICKLEOVER: Beavon 36, Marshall 84, Dolan 90+2

ST IVES: Edwards 3 & 78 

Team Line Ups:

MICKLEOVER: Hedge, Mann, Dolan, Bateman, Butler, Watt, Fankwe, Warren (Marshall 83). Reeves, Beavon, Dales (Wilson 73) Unused subs: Walker, Davidson-Miller, Horleston

ST IVES: Goff, Saka (Baker 76), Herd, Richens (capt), J. Williams, Milne, Kaziboni, Cowling (Osei-Bonsu 56), Edwards, D. Williams (Andoh 73), Shariff, Unused subs: Sheriff, Hottor

Cards:  Yellow:  MICKLEOVER: Dolan (22), Warren (65), Hedge (85)   ST IVES: D. Williams (65)

             Red: MICKLEOVER: Reeves (25), Fankwe (42)

IVES SUPPORTERS MAN OF THE MATCH: Jonny Edwards

Attendance: 190

Report by Nigel Howlett