Match Report

St Ives Town v Soham Town Rangers

Buildbase FA Trophy 1st Qualifying Round 26-10-19

Ives are still in the hat for the next round draw but they can perhaps consider themselves a little fortunate to have the opportunity of a Tuesday evening replay at Julius Martin Lane as the lower level visitors hit the woodwork three times during the game including a deflected effort with what proved to be the last kick of the game.

With the treatment table still looking busier than the training ground Ives manager Ricky Marheineke had dabbled in the transfer market in order to strengthen his threadbare squad ahead of this tie and it was pleasing to see James Peters re-joining from Bedford Town. Equally good news was the return to fitness of skipper Robbie Parker. But as has been the way this season to balance against that good news there was also some bad as Ty Ward missed out following an injury picked up in training.

A bit more good news was provided by the excellent state of the Westwood Road pitch as despite other fixtures around the area falling to the incessant rain this local derby was never in any doubt.

The visiting Greens have been clocking up a lot of goals from set pieces recently particularly the long throws of Callum Russell and it was no surprise that the first opportunity of the afternoon arrived from the first one of these in the game after three minutes. Russell’s long throw from the right was knocked out of the box but fell invitingly for Ryan Auger 25 yards out. He hit his first time effort well but the shot was always rising and finished about a foot over the crossbar.

Ives first effort on goal came four minutes later as Parker knocked the ball into Danny Kelly on the edge of the box and his lay off was well struck by Tom Wood but the effort was straight at Greens keeper Josh Pope who held on comfortably.

The hosts best chance in the first 45 minutes arrived in the eleventh minute as Matt Foy did well to chase down an Aaron Phillips clip down the right. He got to the bye line and carefully picked out Ben Seymour-Shove just inside the box. The Ives winger went for goal first time but made poor contact and only succeeded in screwing his effort across the face of goal.

The visitors were gifted two good opportunities in a four minute spell at around half way through the first half. In 21st minute a poor clearance from Finley Iron fell to the feet of Sam Mulready 25 yards from goal. He probably could have taken the ball forward but tried to beat the keeper with a first time effort and fired his shot a good six yards wide. Only a few minutes later Wood lost possession in the centre of the park allowing the Greens a two on one break. Fortunately for Ives Auger delayed releasing Toby Andrews just to long and when the pass finally came the winger had wandered offside.

The hosts had an even more fortunate escape two minutes later as Russell took a throw short before receiving the ball back to his feet full forty yards from goal in a wide position. With everyone waiting in the centre he delivered an in-swinging cross into the danger zone that caught on the breeze and beat everyone before skipping off the wet turf and bouncing up onto the face of the crossbar before Danny Kelly cleared up at the expense of a corner.

With the elements at their backs the visitors continued to enjoy the majority of possession but it took until five minutes before the break for them to get another effort on target. Once more it came from a dead ball situation as Auger curled in a deep corner from the right that arrived on the head of Alistair Conway ghosting in around the back. He managed to direct his stooping header on target but keeper Iron had got across his goal well and blocked the effort with his legs.

Ives striker Foy created and almost took the final chance of the half out of nothing two minutes later as he cleverly took down a Jeff Woodward clip into his body on the left corner of the box before turning inside to create just enough space before curling his effort just wide.

The hosts were out early at the start of the second period and with the wind and rain now in their favour they decided to take the game to their visitors straight from the off. A well worked early corner saw the ball arrive at the feet of Peters 15 yards out in front of the near post. He struck his right footed effort cleanly but Pope was equal to it throwing himself to his left to palm the ball away. Seymour-Shove pounced on the loose ball but fired high and wide from a narrow angle.

A clever free kick routine led to Ives next effort on goal in 53rd minute. The move ended with Phillips delivering a teasing ball into the danger area from the right. Kelly just managed to win the header in the crowd and direct it goalwards but Conway was well positioned and chested the ball off the line before scrambling it away.

Ives early second half pressure continued and Parker went close just after the hour as another Phillips cross from the right was knocked out to him just outside the box and he unleashed a rising drive that flew a couple of feet over the top. Charlie Johnson missed a good opportunity but almost claimed what would have been a very fortunate goal in 65th minute. A Parker corner was knocked down to his feet by the penalty spot and he took a swing at the ball making minimal contact but just enough to send it trundling towards goal. Keeper Pope ran across his goal to pick the rolling ball but just took his eyes off it as it bobbled a little and was very fortunate that his feet were following up to kick it away as it rolled through his hands.

Having weathered the Ives storm the Greens began to reassert themselves on the game and struck the woodwork for the second time in 67th minute. The busy Lewis Clayton picked up the ball in the centre of the park and fed it into the run of Mulready cutting in from the left. The speedy striker took a touch before slamming in a vicious drive from 25 yards that beat Iron comprehensively but whacked into the face of the crossbar and rebounded to safety.

This seemed to lift the visitors and they once again took control of the game and had claims for a penalty waved away two minutes later Clayton threaded what looked like the perfect ball through the Ives back line to put Mulready clear. Just as he was about to unleash the trigger Jarvis Wilson came sliding in with a perfectly timed sliding tackle to take the ball off his toe and send the striker tumbling inside the box. The excellent referee Ben Cooke was right on the spot and he deemed that Wilson had got his saving tackle just right.

The Greens felt even more hard done by in 76th minute when they got the ball in the net only to have it chalked off by an assistant’s upraised flag. It was the dangerous combination of Mulready and Clayton who had again done the damage. This time the number ten was the provider with a clip in from the left that found Clayton unmarked in the centre and he made no mistake with his header only for his celebration to be cut short by the assistant on the far side.

The visitors made their only substitution of the afternoon with only three minutes of the ninety remaining bringing on Tom Newman for the tiring Matt Allen and the speedy striker had an almost instant impact as he outpaced Woodward down the right before delivering a low cross across the face of goal that arrived at the feet of Andrews coming in at the back post. But the left wingers contact was poor and the chance was gone.

Ives had one chance to claim the victory as the game entered added time. Keeper Pope came to try and deal with a Seymour-Shove corner to the near post but only managed to punch the ball down to the edge of the box where it fell to the feet of Parker who hit it first time on target but the agile Green’s stopper recovered well to make a good save low to his right.

The final action of the game saw the visitors denied by the frame of the Ives goal for the third time in the afternoon. The tricky Newman picked up a loose ball and ran at the hosts defence from the right before cutting inside and letting fly with a fierce effort that took a big deflection off a defender that took it past Iron before thudding into his left hand upright and rebounding away. That proved to be the last kick of the game as referee Cooke blew for time to ensure the two protagonists will re-join the contest at Soham on Tuesday evening.

Final Score : St Ives Town 0 Soham Town Rangers 0

Goals : none

Team : Iron, Phillips (Dylan Wilson 67), Woodward, Wood, Kelly, Jarvis Wilson, Johnson, Parker (capt), Foy (Dawkin 85), Peters, Seymour-Shove

Unused subs : Moyes, Patrick

Supporters man of the match : Robbie Parker

Attendance : 231

Report by Nigel Howlett