Match Report

St Ives Town U18 v St Neots Town Youth Navy U18 

Huntingdonshire FA U18 County Cup – Quarter Final  29-10-18

Having received a bye in the first round the young Ives found themselves up against Royston Crow Under 18 Division Two side St Neots Town Youth Navy who for the uninitiated in the intricacies of St Neots Youth football are not associated with the St Neots Town club that the first team meet in Southern League but a separate Youth Club within the town.

On paper there is a gulf between the two sides and that was exactly how things worked out for the young Ives against their gallant opponents. The home side found themselves one in front after 39 seconds and three up inside the first seven minutes to effectively kill the game as a contest after which it became almost a training session although to their credit the visitors continued to battle throughout and kept the score line within a reasonable margin considering the first few minutes.

Ives started the match like a train taking the game to their nervous looking opposition right from the off Thomas Wakley could have scored after only eleven seconds as he got clean through and was unlucky to see his clip past keeper Tom Tristram cleared off the line. But the clearance took the ball straight back to him and he somehow managed to hit the same player with the return effort. The resulting corner was half cleared wide to Billy Mobbs whose clip to the back post was spectacularly volleyed home by Zac Hope to put Ives in front.

The hosts second followed in 5^th minute as Hope and Louis Bald exchanged passes to scythe through the centre of Saints defence. The former playing the ball into the feet of Wakley inside the box. He turned and hit a right foot effort that keeper Tristram let spill from his grasp Wakley did not need a second invitation pouncing on the loose ball to ram it home from close range.

Two minutes later it was 3 – 0 as Mobbs battled his way inside from the left before unleashing a shot from the edge of the box that took a huge deflection to deceive keeper Tristram and find the back of the net.

Although Ives continued to pour forward they went through a period where they seemed unable to score partially through ill luck, partially through the hard work of the battling Saints back line and keeper and partially through some poor finishing. The most noteworthy efforts during this period were in 12^th minute when Joe Purse put Mobbs clear only for the striker to fire powerfully past the keeper, but also past the post, from just inside the box. Purse went a whole lot closer six minutes later as he latched onto a dropping ball 25 yards from goal and unleashed a rasping volley that beat Tristram all ends up but rebounded to safety off his left hand post.

Wakley rattled the frame of the goal again with an equally spectacular effort two minutes later as he latched onto a poor defensive header and hit a dipping volley that flew over Tristram but rebounded back into play off the crossbar. Hope continued to give left back Alfie Edwards problems down the right flank and in 24^th minute he burst past his marker before cutting inside and flashing a powerful drive across the face of goal.

The battling visitors carved out one opportunity of their own in the first half and that arrived in 26^th minute. Ives skipper Jordan Locke was caught dallying on the ball just outside the box by the Saints hard working lone striker Pedro Garcia. Garcia then appeared to do everything right drawing the exposed Shay Griffiths towards him before slotting the ball past the keeper low to his left, unfortunately for Saints the effort just crept outside the left hand upright.

Ives forth goal arrived just before the half hour and in the simplest fashion. Hope powered away again down the right despite the desperate efforts of a defender to pull him back. Referee Paul Gregory played an excellent advantage allowing Hope to get to the bye line from where he laid the ball back into the path of Jamie Stork who swept it home from eight yards.

Wakley again rattled the crossbar in the 35^th minute as he cut in from the left and curled an exquisite effort over Tristram only to be denied by the woodwork. But the big striker was not to be denied again as only seconds later he forced the ball home from close range after it was shifted back into the box by Hugo Katz.

That completed the scoring before the break although there was still time for Garcia to go close again as Ives failed to deal with a long free kick into their box allowing Garcia to get on the end of it by the penalty spot but he fired his crisp half volley just over the top.

Wakley completed his deserved hat trick two minutes after the re-start as he latched onto a perfectly weighted through ball by Connor Gibbs and fired past the luckless Tristram from just inside the box. 

In the next few minutes substitute Harry Sargent went close twice both times denied by good saves from Tristram. In 54^th minute a flowing Ives move down the left was finished by Mobbs delivering a low cross to the edge of the six yard box where Sargent tried a clever back heel that almost deceived the keeper but he did just enough to block it out for a corner. Nine minutes later Sargent got completely clear onto a ball through the right channel but Tristram was quickly off his line and bravely spread himself to block the Ives striker’s effort at point blank range.

A seventh goal arrived in simple fashion from the resulting corner. George Cawte delivered the flag kick from the right to the edge of the six yard box where centre back Locke rose unchallenged to power home a header between the defenders on the line.

Bald delivered a noteworthy effort in 72^nd minute as he went on a mazy run from the half way line that ended in spectacular fashion as he unleashed a howitzer from fully 30 yards that Tristram did very well to tip over the top. The final goal of this one sided contest arrived four minutes later as Sargent and Mobbs interchanged passes at pace down the right the move ending with the latter driving in a low cross along the six yard line that the late arriving Stork fired home at the back post.

The remaining fifteen minutes saw Ives continue to enjoy heaps of possession but all the fire had gone out of the game and it simply wound down to it’s inevitable conclusion. Ives march on into the semi finals where I am sure that the challenge will be much greater and a final word for the gallant losers who came and battled throughout never throwing in the towel we wish them all the best for the rest of the season.

Final Score  :  St Ives Town U18  8  St Neots Town Youth Navy U18  0

Goals : Hope 1, Wakley 5, 36 & 47, Mobbs 7, Stork 29 & 76, Locke 64

St Ives team : Griffiths, Pillin, Bald, Purse, Perreira (Kelly 67), Locke (capt), Hope (Lee 61), Katz (Cawte 47), Wakley, Stork (Gibbs 29), Mobbs (Sargent 31)

Other subs roll on roll off : Mobbs for Wakley 47, Stork for Gibbs 67

Unused Subs : none

Attendance  : approx 35

Report by Nigel Howlett. Photos by Louise Thompson.