Match Report

St Ives Town v Needham Market  

Buildbase FA Trophy 3^rd Qualifying Round 30-10-2021

Ives frustrations continued as the Marketmen kept their Indian sign over the hosts knocking them out of the FA Trophy at the first hurdle as they had done earlier in the season in the FA Cup. That hoodoo goes back a long time as those that have been around for while will remember that the Ives famous FA Vase run in 2007/8 was ended by the same opponents in a replay in the 5^th Round just two wins away from Wembley.

Ives made just one change following their heart breaking defeat to Hednesford the previous Saturday with Paul White recalled between the sticks and Ben Heath dropping to the bench, also amongst the substitutes was promising new centre back Fabrice Mbola.

There was an early scare for the visitors in seventh minute when skipper Kieran Morphew and goalkeeper Marcus Garnham got in a mix up each leaving a long ball to the other Nabil Shariff got between them and got a toe to the ball but was only able to direct it wide of the post.

Having survived that dodgy moment the visitors started to settle down with Colchester United youngster Harvey Sayer causing particular problems down the left. In 14^th minute he was allowed to pick up a ball in a wide position and cut inside before running across the eighteen yard line and unleashing a right foot effort that curled inches over with White looking on. The same player went even closer five minutes later as he got on the end of a through ball from Luke Ingram and slotted home past the exposed Ives keeper only to be denied by an assistant’s raised flag.

Ives were not so fortunate two minutes later as they fell behind to a well taken goal but one that they will be very disappointed to concede. Byron Lawrence found Kyle Hammond in space by the centre circle, the Marketmen’s number eight was given the freedom of Westwood Road to curl a perfectly weighted pass over the hosts back line into the well timed run of Ingram who made no mistake slotting past White from just inside the box.

Falling behind seemed to spark a reaction from the hosts and they went close twice in sixty seconds in the 26^th minute. First a storming run down the right by Eniola Agemoh-Davies ended with him curling a teasing cross into the centre that looked like it was going to pick out Urijah Gordon-Douglas who had crept in unmarked. Unfortunately the ball was just millimetres to high and sailed harmlessly out of play. The resulting goal kick was returned down the left where Gordon-Douglas battled his way through a couple of tackles before feeding the ball into the feet of Dylan Williams just inside the box. He took a touch before shooting just giving Garnham the chance to bravely spread himself and block the effort at point blank range.

Ives kept looking to push forward and Garnham was forced into a similar brave save to keep his team in front ten minutes before the break. Ben Toseland playing in his unfamiliar centre back role seized an opportunity to roam forward through the middle and he threaded an almost perfect ball into the run of Gordon-Douglas who sprung the offside trap to close on keeper Garnham but again the big stopper was quickly off his line to block the effort at close range.

The visitors had on final opportunity to make the second period a little more comfortable for themselves right on half time as Ben Fowkes got down the right outside Camron McWilliams and delivered a cross that Ives struggled to clear the ball eventually fell to the feet of Sayer on the edge who fired inches wide of White’s right hand post.

Ives were awarded a good chance to get level only three minutes after the re-start as Hammond brought down Ed Hottor on the edge of the D. There appeared to be a few candidates keen to try and beat Garnham and his five man wall. Michael Richens took on the responsibility and managed to get his well struck effort up over the wall, but not down under the crossbar.

It was the visitors turn to go close to sewing the game up in the next noteworthy attack on the hour. Hammond again fed in Callum Page on the left and he went outside his marker before serving up an inviting cross to just beyond the back post where full back Jake Dye arrived completely unmarked to fire a first time volley that cannons away off the outside of the post. 

Only moments later McWilliams long ball into the visitors box out of the low autumn sun almost causes a mix up between skipper Morphew and his keeper again. The skipper expects his keeper to come and claim the ball but struggling to see the flight Garnham leaves it late and Morphew heads the ball past his team mate. Gordon-Douglas’s attempt to turn the loose ball home from an almost impossible angle is unsuccessful and means the Ives don’t even get the consolation of a corner.

But Garnham soon proved to be the hero for his side again as only three minutes later he pulled off the save of the day plunging low to his right to turn Shariff’s shot from the edge of the box around the post. The chance had been created by Richens sliding a perfect ball through the left channel to feed in Williams. The Ives number ten picked out Shariff in space on the edge of the box and his effort looked bound for the bottom corner until the keeper’s timely intervention.

Ives continued to push forward in search of what would have been a deserved equaliser. Hottor likes to have a go from distance whenever he sees an opportunity but two efforts from long range in the following ten minutes looked more likely to threaten the homeowners in Green Leys than Garnham’s goal.

A flurry of activity in the Marketmen’s box in 77^th minute saw Garnham again do well to beat away stinging efforts from Hottor and Richens as the pressure on the visitors intensified. That same attack saw a Shariff effort from inside the box bravely blocked by a covering defender but time was running out for the Ives and by this stage Brett Solkhon was spending more time inside the opposition box than defending his own.

As is always likely to be the way in such situations the team with their noses in front will get opportunities to kill the game off in a breakaway and sure enough that is exactly what happened. There were eight minutes left on the watch when Hottor brought down Marketmen’s substitute Emmanuel Machaya 25 yards from goal. Byron Lawrence showed the hosts how to take a free kick from that range as he got the ball up and down over Ives four man wall and into the back of the net low past the left hand of the diving White.

That sadly ends Ives hopes of a lucrative cup run this season. This has to be the time to get the heads down and all work hard to get behind the team in what now looks like an inevitable battle against relegation for the remainder of the season. 

Final Score : St Ives Town  0  Needham Market  2      

Goals : 

ST IVES : 

NEEDHAM MKT: Ingram 21, Lawrence 82

Teams

ST IVES: White, Agemoh-Davies, McWilliams (Mbola 90+3), Toseland, Solkhon (capt), Hottor (Hicks 82), Gordon-Douglas, Richens, Shariff, Williams, Cross (Snelus 76), Unused subs : Heath, Dwumfuo

NEEDHAM MKT: Garnham, Dye, Sturgess, Lawrence, K. Morphew (capt), D. Morphew, Fowkes (Mpongo 65), Hammond, Ingram, Page (Fitzgerald 80), Sayer (Machaya 74) Unused subs: Cullum, Elsdon

Ives Supporters man of the match : Camron McWilliams 

Attendance : 119

Report by Nigel Howlett. Photos by Louise Thompson.