Match Report

St Ives Town v Stratford Town  

Pitching In Southern League Premier Division Central 28-08-2021

On paper this looked likely to be a cracking game between two in form sides both coming into the match off the back of very good victories against fancied opposition. But it was the Bards who kept their train rolling along the tracks whilst Ives very promising start to the season ran full tilt into the buffers.

Ives supporters got some good news at last on the injury front pre-match as inspirational skipper Robbie Parker had come out of last Saturday’s first 45 minutes in months well and took his place in the starting line up replacing Samir Nabi. The only other change to the successful side of seven days ago was Prudence Anaele coming in for his debut to replace the unavailable Callum Milne alongside Brett Solkhon in the heart of defence.

However that good news had a double dose of bad news to balance against it by three minutes after the break by which time both Solkhon and the star of Ives early season to date Brett Fairlamb had both limped out of the game to join the already extensive queue for the treatment table.

Ives have started tentatively in their previous couple of games and this one followed the same pattern with the visitors starting very positively and enjoying all the early possession. Two early long distance efforts from the busy Ashley Sammons flew wide either side of Paul White’s goal. But the closest the visitors came in those early encounters was in seventh minute when the same player curled in an in-swinging free kick from the left that somehow evaded everyone in the centre and flashed inches wide of the far post.

Ives first meaningful foray into Bards territory came after 14 minutes and a promising move ended with Josh Flanagan curling a long distance effort just over the top as keeper Liam O’Brien looked on.

White was called into action to preserve Ives parity twice in next three minutes. A slip by the debutant Anaele allowed the dangerous Jaanai Gordon space deep in Ives territory in 15^th minute. He threaded a ball into the well timed run of Will Dawes cutting in from the left. White did very well to keep out the winger’s first time effort from 15 yards with his legs. The hosts failure to close down Jordan Williams almost lead to their downfall three minutes later. Anaele eventually stopped the centre backs run just outside the box but the loose ball ran to Gordon who fired straight at White from 20 yards.

The goal which did eventually break the deadlock in favour of the visitors was a cracker from their skipper on the half hour mark. A quick break by the Bards saw the ball fed into Ives box where Ahmed Obeng fired in an initial shot that was bravely blocked by Solkhon, the rebound fell to Gordon but his follow up effort was similarly blocked by a flying Ives defender. This time the ball looped up in the air and dropped to Jimmy Fry who tried his luck from 25 yards with a spectacular volley that arrowed into the top corner giving the keeper no chance.

Liam Cross should have put Ives level only three minutes later as he raced clear onto a long ball out of defence outpaced the defender and closed in on keeper O’Brien. He slid the ball past the exposed stopper from just inside the box but failed to hit the target.

Only ninety seconds later it was the turn of a Bard to fluff his lines as a deep cross from Dawes dropped to the feet of an unmarked Obeng eight yards out at the back post. But the visitor’s midfielder showed a poor touch allowing the ball to rebound off his shins giving White chance to bravely dive in and claim it.

Ives still looked a threat gong forward and Nabil Shariff forced keeper O’Brien into a save in 38^th minute as he got on the end of a ball into the box from Ben Toseland and fired in an effort from a narrow angle that O’Brien was forced to push over the bar.

Having gone close to getting level the hosts then gifted their opponents a second goal four minutes before the break. White rolled a ball out to Anaele 25 yards from goal but the big centre back clumsily lost possession and was instantly punished as Jack Self fed in Gordon on the left and his low driven cross was turned home at point blank range by Sammons.

There was still one opportunity for Ives to get back in the game before the break as Shariff managed to lose his man inside the box to get on the end of a Fairlamb free kick from the right but the usually deadly striker failed to hit the target with his free header from eight yards.

Although two down there had been glimpses to suggest that Ives may get back into the game but most of those hopes disappeared in the first three minutes of the second period as Solkhon failed to appear for the re-start having succumbed to an injury picked up when fouled by Joe Magunda in the last few seconds of the first period. He was quickly followed into the treatment room by Fairlamb who limped off only three minutes later.

Whilst Fairlamb was being treated we witnessed one of the more bizarre sites on a football field as Ives thought they had pulled a goal back. The ball had gone out of play for a corner as the winger went down for treatment. Liam Cross thought that he heard a whistle allowing him to take the flag kick and swung it into the middle where Gordon rose highest to glance the ball past his own keeper. With Ives celebrating and the Bards arguing amongst themselves everyone turned around to see referee Shaun Barry still on the halfway line with the prostrate Fairlamb. Needless to say the “goal” did not count.

When the corner was eventually taken legally it was deflected wide by a Stratford head. Ives again thought that they had scored from the follow up corner as for the third time in a row it deflected off a visitor’s head in the direction of his own goal but this time it was spectacularly cleared off the line by Obeng and despite Ives protests none of the officials thought that it had crossed the line.

To their credit Ives continued to battle but all that they had to show for their efforts were long range attempts from Ed Hottor in 53^rd and 67^th minutes. The former requiring a save from O’Brien but the latter crashing into the boards and an 86^th minute free kick from a good position that Dylan Williams screwed wide. To counter that White had to pull off another excellent save to keep out a deflected effort from Will Grocott in 74^th minute.

To add insult to their many injuries as the Ives tired in the last few minutes the Bards added two more to put a gloss on the score line. In 88^th minute pacy substitute Enoch Andoh raced clear down the right onto a clip over the top. White came sprinting from his line but was comprehensively beaten to the ball winger whose clip into the centre looked like it was going in only for Ives substitute Eniola Agemoh-Davies to miraculously hook it off the line. But his gallant effort was in vain as Gordon following up unselfishly rolled the loose ball into the path of Grocott to blast home from close range.

The icing on the Bards cake came three minutes into added time when Owen James was allowed to run straight through the heart of Ives back line before turning the ball inside to Andoh who gleefully rolled it into the empty net.

With only 48 hours to the next game, a trip to Biggleswade on Bank Holiday Monday Ives manager Ricky Marheineke and physio Jardaine Patel-Joseph are going to be very busy trying to patch together a fit, balanced side to take on the Waders.      

Final Score : St Ives Town  0  Stratford Town  4      

Goals : 

ST IVES : 

STRATFORD : Fry 30, Sammons 41, Grocott 88, Andoh 90+3

Teams

ST IVES: White, Flanagan, Toseland, Hottor, Solkhon (Agemoh-Davies 46), Anaele, Cross (Robbins 76), Parker (capt), Shariff, Williams, Fairlamb (Seymour-Shove 49)   Unused subs : Heath, Dwumfuo 

STRATFORD: O’Brien, Turner, Magunda, Williams, Hopkins, Fry (capt), Sammons, Obeng (Andoh 73), Self (Grocott 62), Dawes (James 79), Gordon  Unused subs: Venn, Lafferty

Ives Supporters man of the match : Ed Hottor

Attendance : 180

Report by Nigel Howlett. Photos by Louise Thompson.