Match Report

St Ives Town v Coalville Town

Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central  01-04-2023

This very hard-earned victory on the road took the Ravens to the top of the table but they were pushed all the way by the battling Ives who could, and probably should, have got something from this game.

With Eddie Brearey still injured there was a return between the sticks for James Dadge and Ives also welcomed a fit again leading scorer Jonny Edwards back to lead their attack as they continued their quest to end their run of nine games without a win. Their visitors equally determined to continue their five match unbeaten run and claim top spot off Tamworth.

The hosts should have got their noses in front less than forty seconds after the kick off as Greg Kaziboni got fed clean through on goal. A slightly heavy first touch did for him though as it gave ex Ives keeper Paul White chance to get that little bit closer as he spread himself forcing Kaziboni to lift the ball a little higher over him and that proved just to high as the ball rattled the crossbar and bounced away.

Ives continued to look the better side in the early exchanges and White was forced to make a diving save low to his left to keep out Kaziboni’s snap shot from the edge of the box four minutes later. The speedy Ives winger was causing the Ravens defence a few problems and he was fed in down the left by Johnny Herd in 15^th minute. He hung up his cross to the back post where Herve Pepe-Ngoma did well to prevent Edwards getting on the end of it.

Coalville are very much the ball playing side of the leading bunch and once they had settled onto the excellent 3G surface at quattro tech Westwood Road they began to patiently build themselves into the game. Dadge was called into his first real action in 18^th minute as an excellent Ravens passing move ended with Ashley Chambers feeding in Tom McGlinchey cutting in from the left. The Ives keeper had to leap high to his left to push away his fierce rising drive.

Just to prove that they knew how to play route one as well the Ravens next opportunity two minutes later came as Chambers looked to get away onto a long punt from White. But a poor touch allowed Ashton Fox to get around and rob him. Dadge had to be alert to prevent Tom Berridge getting onto a 35^th clip over the top the keeper rushing to the edge of his box to just head the bouncing ball away from the centre forward. Berridge continued his run and clattered into the keeper going down to claim a penalty but referee Luke Scott’s decision went in favour of Dadge.

Since those early stages the visitors had enjoyed the majority of possession but just as it was beginning to look like Ives might make it to the break on level terms the visitors found a little stroke of luck to get themselves in front. Another swift interchange of passes down the left ended with McGlinchey running at Ives back line and his ball across the face of the box fell to Luke Shaw cutting in from the right. He cleverly got past Herd before unleashing a shot that deflected past Dadge off Charlie Johnson.

Falling behind rattled Ives a little and they could have conceded another only seconds later as George Wilson ran at the defence before being stopped by an effective challenge from Jordan Williams but the ball ran on to Joe Doyle-Charles who played in Berridge. His shot from just inside the box deflected off Fox and looked like it was heading in but this time Dadge recovered his position quickly to make the save.

There was still time before the break for both keepers to need to make a save from free kicks. Paddy Casey brought down McGlinchey on the left corner of Ives box in 44^th minute. Shaw got the free kick up and down over the wall but Dadge moved his feet well to make a comfortable save. White was called into similar action at the other end two minutes into added time as he kept out Kaziboni’s 25 yard free kick that came over the Ravens four man wall.

Similar to the start of the first half Ives had a shot on goal inside the first minute as Tyrone Baker cut in from the left and unleashed a powerful 25 yard right footer that was straight at White. Baker caused the visitors more problems in 55^th minute as he got around the outside of Alex Dean and was hauled down just outside the box in a wide position. Kaziboni clipped the resulting free kick into a large pack of players inside the six yard box where the ball rebounded wide off Johnson as a defender tried to clear.

Once again though Ives were undone by clinical finishing from the Ravens. Another patient build up from the visitors concluded with McGlinchey finding a little space inside the box and calmly rolling the ball into the bottom corner of the net past an unsighted Dadge. The keeper did much better two minutes later as he bravely slid in to take the ball off the toe of Doyle-Charles after the midfielder had been played through by Chambers.

It may have been the visitors taking their foot off the gas a little bit, or simply Ives lifting themselves to another level but the passing of the hour mark seemed to lift the hosts and they really began to take the game to their opposition. That new belief received a massive boost in 65^th minute as Edwards pulled a goal back. Casey delivered a teasing clip in from the right behind the Ravens back line. White started to come for it but with Baker bearing down at pace Dean decided to try to cut out the ball but he only succeeded in knocking it to Edwards on the edge of the box and with the keeper out of position the Ives leading scorer kept his cool to roll the ball home.

With the bit now between their teeth the hosts really tore at their visitors and they had two excellent penalty claims turned down within seconds of each other with fifteen minutes to go. Initially centre back Robertson got his upraised arm in the way of a Herd long throw but referee Scott deemed the contact unintentional. The ball was hoofed clear for another throw in the same spot this time the ball was knocked down to Enoch Andoh on the edge of the box and his goal bound shot struck the arm of a defender and deflected wide. This time referee Scott was unsighted. The resulting Herd corner was won at the back post by Johnson but his header was straight at White.

Ives kept up the pressure and an 80^th minute scramble saw both Edwards and Baker have shots blocked before the ball was eventually hacked clear. But the golden opportunity for the hosts to get on level terms came in 84^th minute. With full back Casey now thrown forward it was he who seized an opportunity to drive into the Ravens box. The ball ricocheted around before eventually falling to the usually deadly Nabil Shariff who had only been on the pitch ninety seconds. He found himself all on his own ten yards out with only keeper White to beat. He tried to beat the keeper low to his left but the big stopper had anticipated it and got down well to block.

Shariff had another half chance as the clock ticked into 90^th minute as he got on the end of a clip over the top from inspirational skipper Richens but this time he did not get enough of a touch to deflect the ball past White. 

The board went up for an added eight minutes to give Ives hope but by this point they had replaced both full backs with forwards and were throwing everyone forward at every opportunity and perhaps unsurprisingly they got caught on the break. McGlinchey got away into the gap that would have normally been filled by Casey and he cut inside before teeing up substitute Max Brogan who beat Dadge low to his left from 20 yards to take the Ravens to the top of the table.

National League North is beckoning for the ex- mining town from Leicestershire whilst the Ives are still in real danger of heading the other way into what would probably be the Northern Premier League Midlands Division. But this performance again gives Ives hope and the rest of the results still means that their destiny is in their own hands. Second placed Tamworth, no doubt smarting from losing top spot, are next up at the quattro tech Westwood Road so get down and support the boys.  

Final Score:  St Ives Town  1  Coalville Town  3    

Goals: 

ST IVES: Edwards 65

COALVILLE: Shaw 41, McGlinchey 57, Brogan 90+2 

Team Line Ups:

ST IVES: Dadge, Casey (Higgs 90), Herd (Shariff 82), Richens (capt), J. Williams, Fox, Kaziboni (Andoh 69), Harris, Edwards, Johnson, Baker, Unused subs: Toseland, Hottor, 

COALVILLE: White, Pep-Ngoma, Putman, Dean, Robertson, Wilson (Brogan 69), Shaw (Chitiza 85), Doyle-Charles (capt), Berridge (Kee 77), Chambers, McGlinchey, Unused subs: Smith, Wilkinson 

Cards: Yellow:  ST IVES: Edwards (20), Harris (44), Kaziboni (62), Andoh (89), Fox (90+3)          COALVILLE: Dean (55), Doyle-Charles (89)

IVES SUPPORTERS MAN OF THE MATCH:  Michael Richens

Attendance: 454

Report by Nigel Howlett, Interview by Andrew Dunn, Match Highlights by Ollie Jones, Photos by Louise Thompson.