St Ives Town 3 v Lowestoft Town 1
Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central 12-08-2024
Nigel Howlett Reports
Ives claimed their first victory of the season at quattro tech Westwood Road with an emphatic win against an inexperienced Trawlerboys side. Without the heroics of their keeper Luke Holt the visitors would have headed back to the Suffolk coast on the wrong end of a real spanking but the agile stopper and at times a lack of composure in front of goal from Ives ensured that the winning margin was kept to two.
Holt started his heroics as early as the fifth minute hurling himself full length to his left to palm around Alex Collard’s fierce drive from the edge of the box after an early Johnny Herd free kick had been half cleared to the big man. Collard also managed to get his head to the resulting corner but his downward header into the mix was scrambled away before Jonny Edwards could pounce.
Theo Alexandrou should have put the Ives in front in 16th minute as he ran clear onto Collard’s clip over the top. The young strikers calmly rolled the ball past the advancing Holt but agonisingly it rolled inches wide of the post.
Ives continued to press and it took a stretching clearance for Josh Hazell to just prevent Jordan Nicholson getting on the end of Aaron Smith’s driven cross from the left two minutes later. The opening goal came in bizarre fashion only seconds later as Smith hurled in one of his trademark long throws from the left. Trawlerboys skipper Travis Cole rose highest in the crowd but completely misjudged his attempted clearing header instead flicking the ball into the roof of his own net past the bemused Holt.
Ives continued to sweep forward in waves and Peter Abimbola should have doubled the advantage in 23rd minute. Jernade Meade fed a teasing ball in from the left and as Edwards and Cole came together and went down in a heap the loose ball popped up to Abimbola just inside the box. He went for placement and carefully side footed the ball past the exposed Holt but just the wrong side of the post.
The black and white tide continued to flow towards the visitor’s goal and Edwards went close again in 27th minute as he got across in front of his man at the near post but could only succeed in directing Alexandrou’s low cross wide of the post. Ives centre forward is desperate to open his account for the season and in 35th minute he almost got on the end of Williams flick to another Smith long throw.
The brilliance of Holt again came to the fore two minutes later as he hurled himself full length to his left to fingertip away Abimbola’s stinging drive after the powerful midfielder had side stepped a defender and let fly from just outside the box.
The visitors then just gave Ives a reminder that they were still in the game as they twice forced saves out of home keeper Dan Wilks in the last few minutes before the break. The home custodian comfortably saved Gabriel Overton’s low drive from the corner of the box in 43rd minute and then was forced into a more spectacular save two minutes later hurling himself low to his left to keep out Flynn Clarke’s crisp 25 yarder.
Just a slender lead at the break with Ives supporters wondering if they were going to be left ruing the missed chances in that first period that they had dominated. Sure enough they were caught out only four minutes after the re-start as the second own goal of the game levelled things up. Sam Johnson got down the left wing and fired in a low, driven, cross that Williams turned past his own keeper as he stretched to prevent Overton getting on the end of it.
Being pegged back forced Ives into renewed efforts and only seconds later it took a clumsy tackle from Charlie Norman to prevent Alexandrou dancing into the box as he cut in from the left. Edwards on free kick duty fired his fierce effort through the four man wall but the deflection took it wide of the post.
The hosts thought that they had got back in front in 64th minute as Williams again rose highest to flick on another Smith long throw. The flick beat the flying Holt but was somehow scrambled off the line, or was it over the line, by a combination of two Trawlerboys defenders.
With twenty minutes to go manager Ricky Marheineke introduced new signing Kobe Chong to the fray in place of the tiring Nicholson and the young substitute had an instant impact as with his first touch he received possession on the edge of the box, side stepped his marker and set off across the face of goal before firing powerfully past the diving Holt from 15 yards.
Now with their noses back in front Ives went for the jugular. A flowing move in 76th minute saw Meade fire a perfectly weighted cross field ball into the left sided run of Alexandrou and it took a brilliant defensive header from Cole to prevent Chong from turning in the youngster’s clip to the back post.
But the reprieve was only brief for the visitors as Ives finally killed them off in spectacular fashion with twelve minutes to go. Herd’s corner from the right was knocked back to him and he curled in a teasing cross that Collard bravely attacked diving in amongst the flying boots to power home a header into the roof of the net.
The ever alert Wilks dealt brilliantly with a rare Trawlerboy’s foray into Ives box in 86th minute as he was smartly off his line to block Sam Aldous’s shot at close range after the young substitute had been put through by Hazell.
The Ives were happy to play out the remaining time without further scares to claim their first maximum of the season. The performance is a massive step up from their gut wrenching late defeat at Stourbridge only 48 hours earlier. The performance and the result lifts sprits ahead of another big home game on Saturday when early season favourites for a quick return to step two Banbury United arrive at quattro tech Westwood Road.
Final Score: St Ives Town 3 Lowestoft Town 1 Half Time 1 – 0
Goals:
ST IVES: Cole (own goal) 19, Chong 72, Collard 78
LOWESTOFT: Williams (own goal) 49
Team Line Ups:
ST IVES: Wilks, Meade, Smith, Herd (Obeng 88), Williams, Collard (capt), Alexandrou (Adegbola 85), Abimbola, Edwards (Watkins 90+5), Nicholson (Chong 70), Casey (Creary 90+5), Unused subs: none
LOWESTOFT: Holt, Norman, Ruffles (Murphy 76), McIntosh, Cole (capt), Hazell, Haylock, Clarke, Overton (Aldous 59), Sayer (Haddoch 76), Johnson (Delgado 76), Unused subs: Eagle,
Referee: Zachary Cunningham
Cards: Yellow: ST IVES: Nicholson (39), Edwards (67) LOWESTOFT: none
PADDED SEAT SPONSORS MAN OF THE MATCH: Alex Collard
Attendance: 271