Match Report

St Ives Town v Mickleover

Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central  07-01-2023

Manager Ricky Marheineke’s decision to freshen up his squad after three poor performances proved a master stroke as Ives not only took all three points from the play-off chasing Sports they also became only the second side all season to keep a clean sheet against their Derbyshire visitors. All three midweek signings very much played their part in this much improved display and although 18 year old keeper James Dadge did not have a tremendous amount to do his confident presence and excellent communication skills seemed to bring an instant solidity to the back four that had previously been lacking. Peterborough United loanee midfielder Kellan Hickinson brought a greater urgency to the centre of midfield. But the real star of the trio was last year’s St Ives player of the season Ben Toseland who made a triumphant return to quattro-tech Westwood Road on a loan deal from his new club Kettering Town not only putting in a solid defensive performance but also topping it off with a peach of a free kick to cement the victory twelve minutes from time.

When these teams me in the corresponding fixture early in the season it was a tetchy affair where Sports lost two players to red cards in the first half yet somehow still managed to win the game. This game also started off with the visitors picking up early cards as both Ryan Wilson and Jake Scott picked up booking for fouls inside the first fifteen minutes. The first of those came in 9^th minute when Wilson unceremoniously ended Kieran Higgs run across the face of goal 25 yards out. Michael Richens failed to trouble keeper Jonathan Hedge with the resulting free kick. The same player went a little closer from a similar distance after Johnny Herd’s long throw had been only half cleared to him in 21^st minute. 

Hickinson showed a little bit of his quality two minutes later as he picked up a ball in the centre of the park confidently surged into the heart of the visitors back line before sliding a pass into the run of Nabil Shariff who had unfortunately gone a little to soon and was denied by an assistant’s upraised flag.

Dadge’s first real call into the action came only moments later when Ed Hottor lost possession in the centre of the park allowing Scott a chance to run at Ives back line before laying the ball off to Stuart Beavon who tried a curling effort from the edge of the D that the young keeper showed good footwork to turn into a comfortable save.

The only truly meaningful save in the first period from either side came just after the half hour when another of Hickinson’s powerful runs through the centre was clumsily halted 25 yards from goal by Sports skipper Phil Watt. This time Richens did much better with the free kick unleashing a powerful drive that took a deflection off the end of the visitor’s four man wall making keeper Hedge’s diving save low to his right even better.

The visitors were forced into a change at the break with Scott limping off to be replaced by Andy Dales who took up a position on the left allowing Will Trueman to take a more central role. Trueman had got no change out of Paddy Casey in the first period and an excellent cross field ball from Wilson gave Dales chance to try his luck in 51^st minute but again a man who is becoming Mr Reliable for Ives Casey proved an impenetrable barrier.

Shariff was denied by an assistant’s flag for the second time in the game in 55^th minute. This time he went a little to soon to get on the end of Richens wicked free kick to the edge of the six yard box from the right. Ives went close again only seconds later as another of Hickinson’s surges through the centre gave him chance to feed in Tyrone Baker arriving at pace down the right his first time effort from a narrow angle only ruffled the side netting.

With Ives bench hosting a wealth of talent it was no surprise that manager Marheineke made a couple of changes on the hour introducing leading scorer Jonny Edwards and Myles Cowling in place of Shariff and Hottor respectively.

Dales was still looking like Sports most likely player to break the deadlock and he cut inside from the left and let fly with a right footed effort from the corner of the box in 64^th minute. Again, Dadge’s positioning and handling were good as he made a comfortable save.

The controversial incident that proved so pivotal came only sixty seconds later. Herd launched a long throw into the box from the right touchline, with wind assistance the ball sailed over the melee at the near post and arrived at the feet of Edwards inside the six yard box. He simply helped it goalwards where it was blocked on the line by James Butler. The ball appeared to strike the arm of the defender and Ives appeals were answered in the affirmative by well positioned referee Joe Woolmer. Once he had given the spot kick his only course of action was to also dismiss the unfortunate Butler for denying the goalscoring opportunity. Edwards calmly waited for the arguments from the Sports players and bench staff to subside with the ball under his arm then compounded the visitor’s misery by sending Hedge the wrong way with his spot kick.

To give them their due the visitor’s heads did not drop which is probably not surprising if they remembered the earlier game. They had two efforts at goal inside sixty seconds in 73^rd minute as first Wilson failed to hit the target from the left corner of the box after being teed up by Dales then Rhys Dolan fired over from 25 yards out in a more central position seconds later.

Ives put the game to bed with twelve minutes left on the watch courtesy of the exquisite free kick from Toseland. Edwards was clumsily taken down by Watt 25 yards from goal. There was some initial debate over whether Richens, or Toseland should take the shot on with the skipper gracefully giving way to his centre back who curled an absolute peach, up and over Sports four man wall and just out of each of the desperate dive from Hedge.

With the game now decided it was good to see Ives remaining positive rather than sitting back on their lead. Enoch Andoh had been introduced for the tiring Hickinson in 75^th minute and he had two chances to add to the host’s lead in the closing stages. In 88^th minute he took on a mazy run through the visitor’s back line that ended with the covering Joe Bateman whacking the ball against his shins the rebound forcing a save out of Hedge as it ricocheted in a goal bound direction. As the game entered an added five minutes he galloped away onto a poor defensive header from Ethan Mann only to be taken down inside the box by Bateman, but this time referee Woolmer waved away Ives appeals. 

Ives ninth win of the season takes them up four places to a respectable mid table twelfth spot whilst their visitors saw their local rivals Ilkeston and Hitchin both move above them as they slipped to eighth, only five points above Ives in the crowded middle part of the table in a season where everyone is capable of beating everyone else in the Premier Division Central.  

Final Score:  St Ives Town   2   Mickleover  0

Goals: 

ST IVES: Edwards 66 (pen), Toseland 78

MICKLEOVER: 

Team Line Ups:

ST IVES: Dadge, Casey, Herd, Richens (capt), J. Williams, Toseland, Higgs, Hottor (Cowling 59), Baker, Hickinson (Andoh 75), Shariff (Edwards 59), Unused subs: D. Williams Johnson 

MICKLEOVER: Hedge, Mann, Wilson, Butler, Watt (capt), Scott (Dales 46), Bateman, Dolan, Marshall, Beavon, Trueman, Unused subs: Mills, Rose, Bosworth, Greaves

Cards: Yellow:  ST IVES:  Hottor (27), Richens (35), Casey (48), Herd (81)           MICKLEOVER: Wilson (9), Scott (13), Watt (54), Beavon (83), Bateman (90+1)

            Red: MICKLEOVER: Butler (65) 

IVES SUPPORTERS MAN OF THE MATCH:  Ben Toseland

Attendance:  205

Match report by Nigel Howlett. Interview by Andrew Dunn. Match highlights by Dave Hook & Ollie Jones. Photos by Louise Thompson.