Match Report

Peterborough Sports v St Ives Town 

BetVictor League Southern Premier Division Central 22-02-20

Ex Ives Legend Jimmy Dean will have been delighted as his promotion chasing charges completed a comprehensive double over the struggling Ives in a vastly one sided affair where the impressive Turbines barely needed to get out of second gear to claim the three points and at the same time move themselves up into second place in the table,

This was always going to be a tough place to come for Ives up against the league’s leading scorers with a defence which has failed to keep a clean sheet in the league since early October. But manager Ricky Marheineke will be disappointed in the manner of this defeat as it was old defensive failings which returned to haunt the otherwise resourceful visitors.

The game was almost over as a contest inside the first fifteen minutes as the Turbines took advantage of poor marking to race into a two goal lead. The opener arrived in the tenth minute as ex Ives maestro Lewis Hilliard delivered one of his trademark teasing corners to the back post where Paul Malone rose above the crowd to power a header on target. Martin Conway in the Ives goal did brilliantly to get down smartly to his right to keep it out but Mark Jones reacted first to prod home the loose ball from close range.

Four minutes later it was 2-0 as the tricky Dion Sembie-Ferris sprinted away down the right before delivering a powerful cross to the back post where the unmarked Jones rose majestically to direct his header inside the post giving Conway no chance from eight yards.

However it could all have been so different as prior to the goal Ben Seymour-Shove had twice got away down the left but wasted the opportunities as on both occasions he failed to pick out team mates in the centre over hitting both crosses well beyond his colleagues. The first time the ball simply running out of play and the second time oddly hitting the corner flag and staying in but it was a Turbines defender that reacted first to hack the ball away. Ives only other half chance of an otherwise very one sided first half arrived in 16^th minute when Edmund Hottor took a clever free kick that put Dylan Wilson clear into space on the left. Wilson did little better than his team mate before him as he delivered his cross into the six yard box but only succeeded in picking out a defenders foot and Malone swiftly cleared the danger.

Ives continued to battle hard to keep a foothold in the game but it was always the hosts who looked more likely to add to their lead. Sports two wide men were giving both Ives full backs a tough time. It was Jordan Patrick’s turn to get caught out in 22^nd minute as Josh Moreman cut inside his attempted challenge from the left and ruffled the side netting with a low right foot drive from the edge of the box that had Conway plunging to his right to cover it.

The Turbines seemed to lift their efforts again as the half drew to a close. In 39^th minute Maniche Sani and Sembie-Ferris combined well down the right with the latter working his way past Ben Toseland to get to the bye line before picking out the former with his pull back. Fortunately Sani side footed his shot straight and Conway who held on well. But the Ives keeper found himself beaten again two minutes later as another dead ball situation lead to their downfall. Hillyard was again the provider as his corner from the right was met powerfully by Malone who directed his header low past Conway’s left hand and into the back of the net.

Three more Hillyard corners came into the Ives box in the remaining minutes before the break and each one lead to another scoring opportunity for the hosts. In the 43^rd minute a deep corner from the left brought about a few seconds of head tennis between Sani and Richard Jones. The final effort on goal coming from the Turbines skipper but Conway was in position to make a clean catch. Two minutes later it was again Malone’s turn to get on the end of another perfectly delivered flag kick but this time he powered his header inches wide. Malone was also the target for the final act of the first half and he again won an almost unchallenged header at the back post and this time Conway had to bring off a more spectacular save palming the powerful effort away to his left.

The hard working Ollie Snaith had picked up a knock in the first half and was replaced by Andrew Osei-Bonsu at the break but there was no signs of the visitors getting even a tiny foothold back into this game. In 47^th minute Ben Seymour-Shove delivered an in-swinging free kick from the left into the danger zone at the back post but it was always odds on that it would be a Sports head that won the ball and sure enough Jones rose to head the ball clear. 

Toseland found himself completely out numbered on the left side of Ives defence in 51^st minute as Dan Lawlor, Matt Miles and Sembie-Ferris all combined to tee up Sani who turned on a sixpence to slam a shot on goal that Conway did brilliantly to keep out low to his right. But the Ives keeper was given no chance at all as the hosts increased their lead in 68^th minute. The pack hunting style worked well for the Turbines as Jones managed to win the ball back high up the park before selflessly rolling the ball across the edge of the box to the unmarked Moreman who kept his cool to send the exposed Conway the wrong way before rolling the ball in the corner of the net.

To their credit Ives kept battling and Wilson slotted their best chance of the otherwise torrid afternoon inches wide in the 71^st minute. The chance had been created by the hard working Hottor winning on of his many challenges in the centre of the park and rolling the ball to Robbie Parker who in turn fed Wilson through the left channel. The speedy striker’s first time left foot effort flashed across the face of goal but just the wrong side of the post. Home keeper Lewis Moat was also called upon to do his hardest work of the afternoon in the next few minutes as he twice leapt high to punch away dangerous Seymour-Shove corners.

Normal service was soon resumed and in 75^th minute substitute Cameron Johnson bustled his way through before firing wide from a good position. The final nail in Ives coffin was delivered by another of their ex players as substitute Avelino Viera thumped home a loose ball from just inside the box in the 89^th minute. The diving Conway did his best to keep it out but the sheer power of the shot meant it deflected off him into the roof of the net.

There was still an opportunity for Conway to show his abilities and bravery as he plunged in at the feet of Johnson to deny the striker after he had been put clean through the leaky centre of the Ives defence by fellow sub Jim Stevenson deep in added time.

This was a very tough day at the office for the Ives but it is a game that they must get out of their system very quickly and they do at least have an opportunity to do so with an otherwise inconvenient County Cup semi-final visit to Eynesbury on Tuesday evening ahead of the two games which will probably decide the fate of their season as fellow strugglers Alvechurch and Leiston visit Westwood Road in a four day spell starting next Saturday.  

Final Score : Peterborough Sports  5  St Ives Town  0     

Goals :  none

Team : Conway, Patrick, Toseland, Hottor, Hamblin, Powell, Snaith (Osei-Bonsu 46), Parker (capt), Wilson (Dean 77), Curtis (Clifton 70), Seymour-Shove  

Unused subs : Jackson

Supporters man of the match : Edmund Hottor

Attendance : 352

Report by Nigel Howlett.