Match Report

St Ives Town v Redditch United   

Pitching In Southern League Premier Division Central 09-11-2021

A barnstorming second half comeback earned Ives a vital victory against one of their many relegation rivals. Crazily the three points gained not only lifted the hosts out of bottom spot but moved them up seven places to mid table in what must be the tightest division on the planet with ten teams at the bottom end separated by just three points.

Ives new joint management duo of Mike Ford and Ricky Marheineke made four changes to the starting line up following Saturdays defeat at high flying Coalville with Michael Richens and Dylan Williams both returning from suspension and Callum Milne and Urijah Gordon-Douglas also coming in. Fabrice Mbola, Jason Dwumfuo and Jack Snelus all dropped to the bench and Samir Nabi missing out completely. Redditch manager Matt Clarke made only one change from their goalless draw at Lowestoft with Romario Martin coming in for his debut to replace Alex Cameron who dropped to the bench.

As might be expected for such an important game it started at a frantic pace with both sides closing each other down very quickly all over the park. The only real threat to either goal in the first twenty minutes came when Reds keeper Kieran Boucher dropped a hanging ball inside his six yard box but veteran defender Asa Charlton was on hand to clear before an Ives player could prod it home. The opportunity had been created when a Dylan Williams corner from the right had only been half cleared and Eniola Agemoh-Davies had delivered a deep cross beyond the far post where Brett Solkhon had managed to head it back into the mix. The presence of the lurking Nabil Shariff had been just enough to unsettle Boucher into his mistake.

The Reds first chance arrived in 23^rd minute as Luke Rowe’s corner from the right was met in the centre by Dan Sweeney who rose amongst the crowd and managed to direct his header towards goal but it lacked power and was comfortably held by Paul White in the Ives goal.

As the pace dropped a little with half time approaching both sides began to create opportunities and another slip by keeper Boucher almost presented Ives with the opener on the half hour. Williams delivered a free kick from 35 yards into the danger zone. The initial clearing header from Luke Cox was a poor one and the ball fell to Milne on the edge of the box. His shot was on target but a fairly tame one however Boucher failed to cling onto it and was perhaps fortunate the nearest Ives player was a defender and Solkhon was a little slow to react allowing the keeper to save his blushes by pouncing on the loose ball.

Two minutes later the visitors went in front as debutant Martin showed his ability. Williams lost possession to Rowe on halfway and the Reds midfielder fed the ball into the feet of Martin just outside the box. The striker cleverly let the ball run across him onto his left foot, side stepped Milne and slammed a low shot past the diving White into the bottom corner.

Falling behind rocked Ives for a few minutes but they were soon back on the attack and it took an excellent save from Boucher to prevent them levelling things up just seconds before the break. Milne delivered a long ball into the box from the right that flicked off the head of Ryan Wollacott and arrived at the feet of Camron McWilliams who had ghosted in unmarked at the back. He took a touch which was just enough opportunity for Boucher to close him down and smother the shot when it came at point blank range.

Ives made a change at the break with pacy winger Dwumfuo replacing Agemoh-Davies this lead to a reshuffle of the pack with McWilliams dropping back to right back and Dwumfuo coming in ahead of him. As was anticipated Ives tore into their opponents straight from the off and it took them less than two minutes to get on level terms. Another Williams free kick was delivered into the box. The initial clearing header was knocked away to Milne on the right and he delivered a deep cross to the far post where Solkhon rose above the crowd to knock the ball down into the six yard box where Gordon-Douglas reacted quickest pivoting to fire home through the pack of defenders on the goal line.

There was a scare for the Ives only three minutes later as poor communication between Solkhon and his keeper saw the centre back flick a long punt from Boucher towards his own goal expecting White to collect it but the keeper had come forward expecting to claim the punt without a touch and it was a great relief to both as the ball rolled wide of the right hand upright.

From that point though Ives started to get on top and press forward in search of a winner. McWilliams was seizing every opportunity to get forward from right back and support his attack. A powerful run from halfway in 55^th minute was only ended by what might be termed a professional foul by Charlton who took his inevitable yellow card from referee Thomas Kelly safe in the knowledge that he had stopped the Ives man bursting clean through. Williams again delivered the free kick to a dangerous area where Solkhon managed to get in front of his man but his powerful diving header from ten yards flew over the bar.

A Reds sortie up the other end just after the hour saw McWilliams clumsily take down substitute Alex Cameron on the left just outside the box, he rightly joined Charlton in referee Kelly’s book for the tackle. Charlton took the free kick and tried to catch out White by going for goal from a narrow angle fortunately the keeper was alert and got across his goal line to punch the ball away.

Ives pressure continued to build and they went close twice in a minute with twenty minutes to go. An initial break down the right saw Milne feed in Shariff who’s cross to the near post was met by Gordon-Douglas but he did not get enough on his header and the ball flashed across the face of goal and went out for a throw. The Reds struggled to get the ball away from their own penalty area and Shariff managed to regain possession before weaving into the box past two defenders and hitting the target with a powerful left footed effort that Boucher palmed away, the rebound only just evading the fast arriving Williams.

The hosts finally got their noses in front with twelve minutes left on the watch. McWilliams threaded a ball into the well timed run of Gordon-Douglas who had beaten the Reds offside trap and was about to shoot when he was clumsily taken down by a desperate attempt at a recovery tackle by Luke Cox. Excellent referee Kelly was right on the spot and immediately blew for the penalty. With huge pressure on him Williams confidently stepped up to take his first spot kick of the season and he made no mistake as his well struck shot sent Boucher the wrong way.

Now in front Ives were in no mood to give away such a hard fought lead and they generally made a very good job of playing out the remaining time with only one scare in 87^th minute when Cameron flicked on a long ball and Martin looked to be clear onto it but White was alert to the danger and swiftly off his line to block the effort at point blank range. 

A massive win for Ives but one that they must not get carried away with as in such a tight season every point is vital and there are a lot more to play for yet but the signs of improvement certainly showed through again and there is much hope that the green shoots will continue to develop and grow. There were many contenders for man of the match but the tea bar crew decanted to behind the goal these days selected Urijah Gordon-Douglas as their star man for his major involvement in both goals. 

Final Score : St Ives Town  2  Redditch United  1       

Goals : 

ST IVES: Gordon-Douglas 47, Williams 78 pen

REDDITCH: Martin 32

Teams

ST IVES: White, Agemoh-Davies (Dwumfuo 46), McWilliams Hottor, Solkhon (capt), Milne, Gordon-Douglas (Snelus 79), Richens, Shariff, Williams, Toseland, Unused subs: Mbola, Heath, Patrick

REDDITCH: Boucher, Wollacott (capt), Charlton, Cox, Hudson, Farmer, Day (Ferron 79), Rowe, Digie, Martin, Sweeney (Cameron 58), Unused subs: Roke, Clews, Djorovic

Ives Supporters man of the match : Urijah Gordon-Douglas

Attendance : 155

Report by Nigel Howlett. Video by Dave Hook. Photos by Louise Thompson.