Match Report

Peterborough Sports v St Ives Town

Pitching In Southern League Premier Division Central 26-03-2022

For the second game in a row seventeen year old Oxford United loanee goalkeeper Eddie Brearey stood almost single handed between Ives and a pasting. In fact his claim to be man of the match was so unanimous that even the most ardent Turbines supporter could not deny him the accolade. Sadly that fact that he had to show such superb form meant that the players in front of him struggled to perform on a hard bumpy pitch for the second game in a row. On a slight positive note this performance was a little better than Tuesday evenings woeful display at Hednesford.

Three Ives players had pre-game fitness tests with Ben Toseland and Nabil Shariff getting through to take their places in the starting line up but Oran Jackson not so fortunate, although deemed close enough to fitness to be named on the bench. One other piece of good news was Luke Fairlamb continuing his road back to full fitness with a first start since September. His fully fit presence could be vital in the remaining games.

The game started in glorious sunny conditions with Ives supporters fully knowledgeable that their opponents, lead by ex Ives legend Jimmy Dean, were a quality side firmly ensconced in the play-off places. But they were all hoping for a reaction from the players following Tuesday evenings poor showing. Sadly the game started in almost identical fashion with poor defending allowing the hosts to get their noses in front inside the first ten minutes. A ball in from the right found the feet of centre forward Mark Jones who managed to hold the ball up well before teeing up Lamine Sherif who simply rolled it into the corner of the net past the unsighted Brearey.

Despite that early setback Ives battled well to keep the hosts at bay and it took until 25^th minute before Brearey had to start his heroics. Unusually patient build up from the Turbines down the right was concluded with Josh McCammon beating the visitors offside trap to get clean through on goal. The Ives stopper was smartly off his line to close the angle and block the shot at close range with his legs.

Ives only half chance in the first 45 minutes came two minutes after Brearey’s excellent block when Josh Flanagan got past Luke Warner-Eley on the right and delivered a teasing cross that just eluded Shariff in the centre as he tried to force his way between the two centre backs.

Liam Cross lost possession in the centre circle to allow the hosts to create another opportunity on the half hour. McCammon robbed Cross and fed the ball through to Dion Sembie-Ferris who cut in from the left and curled his effort beyond the despairing dive of Brearey but inches wide of his left hand post. The final chance of the first period was also created by the hosts two minutes before the break as Sembie-Ferris and Jones combined well down the right the move ending with the former firing well over from just outside the box.

The second period quickly turned into Brearey versus the Turbines front men. The young keeper started as he meant to go on producing a fantastic double save to first deny Ryan Fryatt from close range and then even more brilliantly keep out the follow up from Sembie-Ferris as he bravely spread himself in front of the winger’s effort from inside the six yard box.

Brearey was beaten only once in the second half and it came only three minutes after the re-start as Jones lost his marker to turn home a low Sembie-Ferris cross from the right giving the keeper no chance from eight yards. That was virtually the wingers last input to the game as he limped off a few moments later to be replaced by Jordan Macleod and the substitute was next to bring out the brilliance in Brearey as he burst through the Ives back line to get on a through ball from Warner-Eley. Once again Brearey was very quickly off his line to close the striker and block his effort at close range.

Brearey did enjoy a little bit of good fortune in 58^th minute. McCammon picked up a poor defensive header from Brett Solkhon and took on the Ives defence before threading a ball into the run of Jones who slotted past the exposed keeper only to find that he had not quite timed his run right and the assistant’s flag was raised.

The host’s loanee keeper from National League North Boston United, Peter Crook, had enjoyed a quiet afternoon for the first hour of his debut but he was called upon to make his first real save in 62^nd minute. Cross broke from the centre of the park to send substitute Tyrone Baker on a run down the left. Baker got outside Dan Jarvis before firing in a left footer that forced the keeper to get down low to his right to push the ball around the post. Needless to say Ives were almost caught out from their own corner as the hosts broke at pace with Macleod being put through for a clear run on goal again. But once again Brearey came up to the plate as he plunged to his right to push the shot away.

The young stopper produced what was probably his best save of the day three minutes later as he instinctively raised a solid hand to keep out McCammon’s close range stab at goal. The chance was created by Jones robbing a dallying Solkhon 25 yards from his own goal.

The chances continued to clock up for the hosts, but so to did the saves from the amazing Brearey. In 69^th minute Macleod found himself put clean through again, this time by Kyjuon Marsh-Brown. Having failed to beat Brearey with a shot on three previous one on ones the substitute decided this time to try and go around the exposed keeper, but Brearey again showed his agility getting down to knock the ball away from the feet of the striker who was clearly begining to wonder what he must do to get past this man.

That disbelief grew in the striker two minutes later as he was once again denied by the keeper. His shot from the edge of the box was pushed away low to his left by the excellent Brearey who again brought gasps of admiration from everyone in the ground as he managed to recover his poise sufficiently to bravely block McCammon’s follow up effort at point blank range.

Almost every effort that the hosts had at goal in the second half was on target but they did fail to hit it with one good opportunity in 74^th minute when Sherif fed through Marsh-Brown on the right and he put in a cross to the near post where an unmarked Jones should have done better than steer his header past the post.

The final piece of brilliance from Brearey came two minutes later when Lawlor delivered a deep free kick into the box from the right. Fryatt got above his marker to win the first header and head the ball down into the six yard box where Jones stabbed it towards goal but another brilliant reaction save from the keeper saw him push the ball away.

A final flurry up the other end ten minutes from time saw Flanagan force another smart save out of Crook but from that point the hosts cleverly saw out time without any further scares to even more firmly cement their play off aspirations with just one more win required to almost guarantee that spot. Ives on the other hand still find themselves looking warily over their shoulders and probably still in need of six more points to ensure themselves of another season at step 3.

Final Score : Peterborough Sports  2  St Ives Town  0   

Goals : 

SPORTS: Sherif 8, Jones 48

ST IVES: 

Teams

SPORTS: Crook, Jarvis, Warner-Eley (Bazeley 90+3), Fryatt, R. Jones (capt), Lawlor, Sembie-Ferris (Macleod 53), Sherif, M. Jones (Hilliard 89). McCammon, Marsh-Brown, Unused subs: Hawkins, McGowan

ST IVES: Brearey, Flanagan, Solkhon (capt), Hottor, Milne (Aiyelabola 87), Toseland, Cross, Osei-Bonsu (Johnston 65), Shariff, Fairlamb (Baker 51), Williams, Unused subs: Jackson, Egole

Supporters man of the match : Eddie Brearey

Attendance : 282

Report by Nigel Howlett. Photos by Louise Thompson.