St Ives Town v Hitchin Town    

Evo-Stik League Southern Premier Division Central – 12-01-19

Ives finally laid the hoodoo as they beat the struggling Canaries for the first time at their sixth attempt. In doing so they heaped pressure on their opponents who remain in the relegation places and extended their losing run to six games. Perhaps not unsurprisingly their previous victory had come in the reverse fixture at Top Field in mid-December.

With Danny Kelly and Owen Wallis joining long time absentee Dylan Wilson on the treatment table Ives resources looked like they could be a little stretched but with Jarvis Wilson back to full fitness he was able to slot into the centre of defence alongside Charlie De’ath allowing Ben Jackson to move across into the full back slot to fill in for Wallis. Kelly’s place alongside Jake Newman was taken by the industrious Ollie Snaith who is returning to his best after his recent suspension.

The hosts opened positively and could have gone in front in only fifth minute as a corner was cleared to Mark Coulson on the half way line his powerful header back down the pitch caught on the breeze and floated over the Canaries defence allowing Ben Seymour-Shove to get clear down the left. Rather than go for goal he turned back inside and tried to pick out a team mate arriving in the box but unfortunately his low cross was just behind both Newman and Snaith arriving at pace in the centre.

Alfie Cue had the visitors first effort at goal two minutes later as he got on the end of a Matt Nolan flick and tried his luck from 25 yards but home keeper Martin Conway watched the effort all the way and made a comfortable save.

Ives carved out another good opportunity in eleventh minute as a Robbie Parker free kick was only half cleared to Jarvis Wilson just outside the box. He played a clever flick inside a defender to give Jackson chance for a cross, his teasing ball in picked out Snaith by the penalty spot. The Ives striker went for power with his header but was unable to hit the target from a good position.

Having enjoyed the majority of possession and gone close on a couple of occasions the hosts then found themselves behind to the Canaries first meaningful attack in 26^th minute. Michael Cain found a little bit of space on the left and drove infield to the edge of the Ives box. He picked out Isaac Galliford with his low cross into the centre. The tricky striker had his back to goal but cleverly turned his marker to fire in a rasping left footed drive that flew past the despairing dive of Conway and nestled in the far corner of the net.

Going in front raised the otherwise fragile confidence of the visitors and the play now swung in their favour as they worked hard to try and further pierce the Ives rear guard. They went close on three more occasions before the break. On the half hour a deep Galliford free kick looked like it was clearing everyone but Alfie Cue had got around the back he only just directed his volleyed effort wide from a narrow angle. Galliford was again involved seven minutes later as he flashed a free kick from a just outside the left edge of the box across the face of goal with no one able to get the vital touch. The third attempt five minutes before half time was probably the best opportunity. A deep cross from the left by Jay Dowie was half cleared to Nolan who cleverly clipped the ball back into the centre where Cain arriving at pace powered a header from ten yards just wide of the post.

Going in one down the lacklustre Ives knew they needed to lift themselves to find a way back into the contest and no doubt guiding works were said by manager Ricky Marheineke to lift his charges for the second half. Captain Parker is one who will always give of his best and lead by example and that is exactly what he did only sixty seconds after the restart. Jack Green was trying to shepherd a rolling ball out of play for a goal kick but Parker never gave up the cause and hounded him all the way sliding in cleanly around the dawdling Canary to hook the ball away from him. Seymour-Shove pounced on the loose ball and fired in a powerful shot from a narrow angle that keeper Michael Johnson blocked with his legs at his near post. The resulting corner from the left was swung in by Seymour-Shove and with players moving in all directions in a pre-rehearsed move the Hitchin defence was at sixes and sevens as it allowed the ball to bounce inside the six yard box to permit a late arriving Jackson to bundle it home at the back post to level things up.

If the equaliser was a little untidy if effective the goal that decided the contest which came on the hour was considerably more spectacular. Seymour-Shove and Coulson combined well to win another corner on the left. Seymour-Shove again delivered the telling ball as once more the movement completely deceived the Canaries. The decisive move was De’ath completely losing his marker to meet the ball perfectly eight yards out and power home a header that gave Johnson no chance as it rocketed into the roof of the net.

The fragile confidence which had been present in the visitors ranks whilst they were in front seemed to desert them once they fell behind and although the Ives did not create any more clear cut chances in the next twenty minutes they began to look more comfortable defending their advantage. 

The increasingly desperate visitors struggled to create anything against the rugged Ives back line. Their attacks seemed to be concentrated down their left flank where Noah Chesmain or substitute Ezra Forde found a few opportunities to deliver balls into the box but these proved to either be to deep to cause any worry or simply provided catching practice to the well protected Conway. It was not until ten minutes before the end that the visitors were able to create even a half chance on that occasion a Cue long throw was flicked on by Nolan but an under pressure Forde fired his close range volley over the top.

Conway did have one smart save to make eight minutes from time as Galliford’s run at the Ives defence was halted by a solid challenge from Parker 25 yards from goal. Cue was following up and pounced on the loose ball firing in a low drive which Conway got down to well and saved low to his right. 

But the final opportunity of the afternoon came the way of the hosts with just four minutes of the ninety left. A swift break saw Newman feed the ball into the run of substitute Ben Baker who looked like he could outpace the tiring Canaries back line but instead turned inside and teed the ball up for Munashe Sundire 20 yards from goal. Unfortunately the never say die midfielder did not make a clean contact on the chance and his shot bobbled wide.

The Ives saw out the remaining time including the added four minutes without further scares to move one further place up the table to twelfth but more importantly having matched their points total for the entire of last season they now find themselves thirteen points above their rivals who currently sit in the last relegation place. As for the Canaries with their next five games all against teams in the top ten they appear to be in for a tough time.

The sponsors picked Charlie De’ath as their man of the match no doubt as much for his rugged display in the centre of Ives miserly defence as for his spectacular winner. But as ever with this side it was another excellent all round team performance that for once got us the reward it deserved against the Canaries.     

Final Score : St Ives Town  2  Hitchin Town  1  

Goals :  Jackson 48, De’ath 60

Team : Conway, Jackson, Coulson, Sundire, Jarvis Wilson, De’ath, Ward, Parker (capt), Newman (Bailey 86), Snaith (Baker 76), Seymour-Shove (Hood 84)

Unused subs : Torkornoo

Sponsors man of the match : Charlie De’ath

Attendance : 228  

Report by Nigel Howlett. Photos by Louise Thompson

St Ives Town v Lowestoft Town

Evo-Stik League Southern Premier Division Central – 29-12-18

Defences won the day at both ends of the park as a game high on endeavour but lacking the little bit of quality that could have won it for either team ended in a hard fought stalemate that rewarded both teams with a single point in their vital quest to remain in this division next season.

The heavy Christmas and New Year schedule is taking its toll on the Ives squad as this was their fourth game in eleven days whilst their opponents were only playing their second in the same period. With a few players carrying knocks and others simply in need of a little recuperation time manager Ricky Marheineke made four changes of personnel and two positional changes in his starting eleven. Owen Wallis, Ben Seymour-Shove, Ben Baker and Jake Newman all dropped to the bench with Mark Coulson, George Bailey, Tyler Wilson and Ty Ward all stepping up. A fit again Joe Hood also joined the other four on the bench.

The visitors started on the front foot and won a very early corner they also had a long thrower in Jack Wilkinson who was willing to hurl the ball into the box from anywhere inside thirty yards from goal. Towering centre forward Shaun Bammant was usually the target for these howitzers but Ives had their own figures of strength in the back line in Sam Cartwright and Charlie De’ath and the early aerial bombardment was repelled without any real scares.

The first real action for either keeper came in 13^th minute and saw the visitor’s stopper Elvijs Putnins spectacularly keep out a Danny Kelly effort. The classy Ives striker had cleverly taken down a long ball forward from Ben Jackson on his right foot before turning inside his marker and firing in a rasping left foot drive from the corner of the box but Putnins was equal to it leaping to his left to turn the ball over the top.

Ives enjoyed a good period after this without testing Putnins again. The closest they came was in 21^st minute when Kelly put Dylan Wilson away down the left. His dangerous low cross along the six yard line was just scrambled to safety by Wilkinson just ahead of Bailey sliding in.

The Trawlerboys best effort of the afternoon came in 24^th minute when Kieran Higgs found some space on the left and picked out substitute Danny Pinheiro deep beyond the far post. He climbed above Coulson and directed the ball down to the feet of Bammant on the edge of the box but with his back to goal. The big striker belied his size as he cleverly spun on the ball and unleashed a looping effort that had Ives keeper Martin Conway scrambling to get back on his line. The keeper may have had the shot covered but he may well have been relieved as us when the ball bounced on top of the crossbar and went over.

Ives also have their own long thrower in the side and De’ath has a throw to match Wilkinson. One of his deliveries into the box from the left caused consternation in 36^th minute. Shots from Wilson and Jackson were charged down before the ball was finally scrambled clear.

There was almost an explosive start to the second half as Ives kick off routine almost brought them a goal. The ball was channelled back from the centre Wilson rose highest to the long ball and flicked it on to Kelly who clipped it inside into the run of Ward putting him clear into the box. Although most of the Trawlerboys had been caught napping keeper Putnins was on his toes and rushed from his line to instantly close down Ward bravely blocking his shot with his body at point blank range.

Kelly was still causing the visitors problems with his trickery and probing runs. He jinked his way into the box in 50^th minute and side stepped to earn himself a little space before flashing his low shot from the corner of the box across the face of goal. That was his last action of the day as a striker as before the resulting goal kick was taken Cartwright succumbed to an injury he had picked up late in the first half and limped off to be replaced by Jake Newman who went in alongside Wilson up front with Kelly joining De’ath in the centre of defence.

As is often the case Munashe Sundire seemed to be getting stronger as the game wore on and his driving runs from midfield were starting to cause the visitors a few problems. One of those runs was ended in unceremonious fashion 25 yards from goal by Henry Pollock in 63^rd minute. The Trawlerboys midfielder picked up the only yellow card of the afternoon. But although Newman managed to get on the end of Robbie Parker’s in-swinging free kick he failed to keep his header down.

Both sides continued to press hard for a winner but chances still remained few and far between. A quick free kick almost caught out Ives in 68^th minute as Armani Schaar was put away down the right. He managed to cut inside covering defender Coulson and get his shot away from the edge of the box but a well positioned Conway held on well at his near post.

The Trawlerboys thought that they should have had a penalty in 73^rd minute as Bammant managed to drop off deep beyond the far post to get on the end of a hanging free kick. He directed his free header towards the six yard box but the ball struck the raised arm of Kelly and was cleared. It was hearts in mouths time for a split second as visitor’s players and supporters all appealed in unison. The match officials looked at each other with referee Stuart Cheek hoping that his assistant may have had a better view of the situation. A shake of the head from the assistant and a wave of play on from the referee allowed us all to breath again.

To almost pile injury onto insult for the visitors the ball was instantly channelled down the other end by Parker with Wilson getting away from his marker looking like he might get a clear run on goal only to be just beaten to the ball by the ever alert Putnins who was perhaps a little lucky as having nicked the ball off Wilson he was instantly closed down by Newman and was fortunate to see his attempted clearance cannon off the Ives substitute out of play.

The two teams continued to jab away at each other like tiring heavyweights but both sides defences remained solid to the end with each side only carving out a single half chance in the remain time in 86^th minute Bammant curled an effort just wide from 25 yards for the visitors and two minutes into added time the ever willing Wilson almost got put through by Sundire only for Adam Tann to come in with a crunching saving tackle that saw the young Ives striker stretchered out of the game with a suspected fractured ankle.

Overall a point each was probably a fair result and five points from their four seasonal fixtures to date is not a bad return. Even more importantly only one defeat in the last eight games has moved Ives away from the danger zone and towards the middle of a very compact League table. We all wish young Wilson a speedy recovery but he is likely to be out for a while and Cartwright must also be a doubt for Tuesdays game, but overall Marheineke’s idea of resting a few players for this game means that we will have a number of fresh eager faces ready to take their places in the Cambridgeshire derby at St Neots on New Years Day.

One final very positive comment on the day was the friendly rivalry between the two sets of supporters with each group gathered by the bar in the second half cheering on their players to greater effort and plenty of friendly banter between the two sets. At the end each group was exchanging genuine good wishes with both hopefully looking forward to meeting up again in this division next season. Non-League football as it should be!

Final Score : St Ives Town  0  Lowestoft Town  0  

Goals :  none

Team : Conway, Jackson, Coulson, Sundire, Cartwright (Newman 51), De’ath, Bailey (Seymour-Shove 72), Parker (capt), Dylan Wilson, Kelly, Ward (Baker 83)

Unused subs : Hood, Wallis

Sponsors man of the match : Munashe Sundire

Attendance : 221  

Report by Nigel Howlett. Photos by Louise Thompson

St Ives Town v Royston Town    

Evo-Stik League Southern Premier Division Central – 26-12-18

A very competitive Boxing Day derby ended honours even as the Ives took a deserved home point from another of the pre-season promotion favourites. This time it was the stuttering Crows who will probably feel most pleased to take a share of the spoils.

After his tactical master stroke at Tamworth manager Ricky Marheineke returned to the more familiar 4-4-2 formation for the Ives with wide men Ben Baker and Ben Seymour-Shove returning to the starting line up at the expense of George Bailey and Saturday’s man of the match Ty Ward. Jarvis Wilson was also missing from the starting eleven having picked up a dead leg against the Lambs. Ben Jackson slotted in alongside Sam Cartwright in the centre of the Ives back four.

The game started with both sides probing their opponent’s defences looking for any possible weak links. An early Charlie De’ath long throw was half cleared to Baker on the edge of the D. The young winger showed excellent technique to get over the dropping ball and slammed in a goal bound volley that was bravely blocked by a covering defender.

The Crows first opportunity to test Martin Conway in the home goal came in seventh minute when Jackson was adjudged to have pushed Josh Castiglione 25 yards from goal. Crows leading scorer James Potton lined up the free kick but only succeeded in slamming his effort into the Ives four man wall.

The even first period continued with both defences remaining on top and neither side able to create a clear cut chance to get in front. The Crows best attempt of the half came in 18^th minute as Castiglione found a little space wide on the left and cut inside Owen Wallis before curling in a right footed effort from the edge of the box that arced inches over the angle of crossbar and post.

Ives had chance to create something from a free kick in a good position on the right in 25^th minute after Baker had been brought down by Luke Oswick. Robbie Parker’s free kick cleared the wall but was cut out by Oswick before it could reach the lurking Ives strikers at the back post. The loose ball fell to Baker 30 yards from goal but his first time effort flew well over the top.

Another De’ath long throw in 33^rd minute caused some disarray in the Crows box. The initial throw was cleared to Munashe Sundire and rather than go for goal from long range he cleverly curled the ball back into the box De’ath arriving late won the header at the back post and looped a ball back into the mix where keeper Joe Welch did well to punch it away off the head of Jake Newman. The ball fell to Baker on the right but his further attempt to curl the ball back into the box was a little to close to the keeper who made a comfortable catch.

The final attempt of the first half high on endeavour and effort but low on chances came eight minutes from the break when the Crows Scott Thomas hammered a first time effort well over the top from fully 35 yards after a free kick had been cleared to him.

Baker had an early half chance only three minutes after the restart when a slip by Thomas allowed him a little bit of space the get a shot away from 25 yards but his powerful drive was always rising and although it beat a sprawling dive from Welch the ball flew inches over the top.

After that early chance the Ives found themselves pegged back as the Crows got on top and exerted a period of pressure on the home goal. Castiglione cleverly dropped off at the back post to get a free header to a Thomas corner in 54^th minute but De’ath was on hand to hack away his goal bound effort.

De’ath was Ives saviour again two minutes later as Potton cleverly threaded a ball through the Ives back line to put substitute Joe Newton in around the back on the left. Newton’s low driven cross was his first touch after entering the fray only seconds earlier but fortunately for the hosts De’ath was in the right place to prevent the ball reaching Castiglione in the centre.

Potton repeated the feat in 64^th minute this time cleverly flicking the ball over Wallis to put Newton in on goal. The Crow’s youngster bravely went in with keeper Conway who had swiftly closed him down and a fast recovering Wallis but although he got to the ball first and got his shot away he slid his effort inches wide of the far post.

Less than sixty seconds later Ives lost their influential skipper Parker as he limped out of the game having taken a bang on the knee moments earlier. The man that replaced him was another all action midfield man last Saturday’s hero Ty Ward.

Having weathered the Crows early second half storm Ives slowly began to get on top and started to carve out chances of their own again. They went close twice in thirty seconds in 81^st minute. A quick De’ath throw picked out Sundire in space and he found Danny Kelly with his in-swinging cross. Kelly’s flicked header almost put in Newman but keeper Welch was alert to the danger and bravely dived in to smother the ball just ahead of the Ives striker. Only seconds later a teasing left wing cross from De’ath curled over Adam Murray but the centre back did just enough to put off Kelly lurking behind him and the ball hit the Ives striker only eight yards out and fell to the ground Welch was again first to react to fall on the ball and snuff out the danger.

Each side then had what was probably their best chance in 86^th minute. Initially Newton found space on the left and delivered a perfect cross that bisected the Ives centre backs and picked out his fellow substitute Vance Bola eight yards from goal. Bola looked like he only had to direct his header either side of keeper Conway to score but he put it straight at the Ives custodian who held on well. The ball was channelled straight up the other end where Kelly cleverly dribbled his way to the edge of the box before holding up the ball well and laying it back into the fast arriving Sundire. He struck his shot well but the ball ricocheted off a Crows defender straight back to the feet of Kelly inside the box he side stepped Gus Scott-Morris and fired in a low left footed effort that beat the diving Welch but flashed inches wide of his left hand post.

There was still time for Baker to get around the back twice as his pace took his away from tiring Crows defenders but on both occasions his attempts to pick out team mates in the box were thwarted by last ditch blocks. On the second occasion in third minute of added time a stretching defender’s knee just diverted the ball away from a late arriving Newman who would otherwise have had the goal at his mercy.

Overall the verdict was that although there were no goals this was an enjoyable Boxing Day lunch time match that probably ended in a fair result. This just goes show how far we have come when we can feel a little disappointed at “only” taking four points from our two fixtures with the Crows this season. 

The holiday season fixtures still come thick and fast with two crucial games to come in the next six days as we entertain Lowestoft Town in our last game in 2018 on Saturday 29^th December before visiting our struggling Cambridgeshire rivals St Neots Town for our opening game of 2019 on Tuesday 1^st January.

Final Score : St Ives Town  0  Royston Town  0  

Goals :  none

Team : Conway, Wallis (Coulson 78), De’ath, Sundire, Cartwright, Jackson, Baker, Parker (capt) (Ward 65), Newman, Kelly, Seymour-Shove (Bailey 85)

Unused subs : Jarvis Wilson, Dylan Wilson

Supporters man of the match : Sam Cartwright

Attendance : 287  

Report by Nigel Howlett. Photos by Louise Thompson

St Ives Town v Bedworth United

Evo-Stik League Southern Premier Division Central – 08-12-18

After the massive high of winning at League leaders Kettering last week this game was always going to be a challenge as Ives faced up to the rock bottom Greenbacks without a League win to their name all season. If some of the visitor’s supporters were to be believed pre-game then their unfortunate run had been at least in part due to lady luck deserting them on a number of occasions. As it turned out the visitors can once more point to the dice not rolling their way but it must be said that their fourteenth League defeat of the season came about at least in part due to their own short comings but also in large measure due to Ives never say die attitude.

Not surprisingly manager Ricky Marheineke kept the same starting eleven that played so well at the Poppies last Saturday with back from suspension Jake Newman only claiming a spot on the bench. With the momentum from last week still flowing and the wind at their backs Ives tore into their struggling visitors from the off. Ben Seymour-Shove latched onto a loose ball just outside the box in eleventh minute and cracked in a first-time right foot effort that had supporters on the Clubhouse terrace leaping for joy but that celebration was a little premature as the fierce drive had only ruffled the side netting.

Seymour-Shove continued to trouble the visitor’s defence going close again four minutes later as he cut in from the right and outbattled a defender to earn himself just enough space to get in a left foot effort from just inside the box that flew inches wide of keeper Adam Harrison’s left-hand post. Danny Kelly should really have put the Ives in front only seconds later as the resulting goal kick was powerfully headed back down the park and a slip by Bradley Maslen-Jones allowed Kelly to get clear as keeper Harrison came to meet him it looked like Kelly only had to get a touch to knock the ball past him but the ball took a slight bobble off the surface and the big striker failed to make any contact allowing the ball to run out of play to safety.

Having pressed hard for an opener throughout the early stages Ives were stunned to fall behind to the visitors first meaningful attack in 17^th minute. Daniel Summerfield found a little space on the left and delivered a low cross to the near post where Sam Cartwright did well to block Luke Rowe’s initial strike. But the ball rebounded to the Greenbacks skipper and before anyone else could react he hammered the loose ball home from close range giving Martin Conway in the home goal no chance.

The setback knocked Ives out of their stride and they were unable to create another opportunity until 31^st minute when Charlie De’ath got on the end of a Seymour-Shove corner from the right and sent in a looping header that beat the scrambling Harrison but landed on the crossbar and dropped in the mix where the keeper did very well to keep his wits about him enough to push the loose ball away just ahead of Ollie Snaith trying to force it home.

Ives had claims for a penalty waved away in 37^th minute as Sam Cartwright appeared to be hauled to the ground by a defender when he looked favourite to get on the end of Robbie Parker’s free kick from the right. The home side went even closer to levelling the game three minutes before the break when another Parker free kick from a similar position was only half cleared by Maslen-Jones. The ball dropped to Jarvis Wilson on the edge of the box who showed remarkable technique for a centre back as he struck an excellent dipping volley from just outside the box. The ball was arrowing into the roof of the net only for Harrison to hurl himself acrobatically to his left to fingertip it over the top.

There was still time before the break for both sides to be reduced to ten men as Snaith reacted badly to being brought down by Ricardo Dudley on the half way line. The initial foul would probably have brought the Greenbacks defender a yellow card but he then followed up by grabbing Snaith around the neck the Ives man reacted leaving the pair hugging each other somewhat like two tiring boxers both looking for the bell at the end of a round. As is normal in such circumstances other players from both sides joined in as both additional adversaries and peace makers. After the melee had settled both of the initial protagonists received straight reds from referee Giovanni Marasca and the worst of the additional adversaries Maslen-Jones picked up a yellow.

With something now to defend the visitors came out for the second period with two solid banks of four and a willing lone striker in Montel Gibson. Not surprisingly the hosts continued to enjoy the majority of possession but were finding it hard to break down their stubborn opponents. It took until just after the hour before they worked Harrison again this time the keeper plunging to his right to tip around a Wilson header. Ben Jackson had delivered a deep teasing cross into the box which Cartwright had headed back from beyond the far post Wilson met his header well from twelve yards but could not beat the agile Greenbacks keeper.

Manager Marheineke made his only change of the afternoon in 68^th minute sending on Newman for Ben Baker who after enjoying the counter attacking game at Kettering where his pace had really come into play had found it much harder to find any space amongst the mass ranks of the Greenbacks.

The equaliser did carry a little luck when it finally arrived fifteen minutes from time Munashe Sundire drove at the visitor’s back line before exchanging passes with Parker. Sundire’s return pass to put Parker away into the box looked a little heavy but even with Maslen-Jones trying to shield the ball out of play the Ives skipper would not give it up sliding in around the Greenbacks defender to hammer in a cross that rebounded off the chest of the unfortunate Barry Fitzharris and entered the net.

With the game now level and one point not really sufficient for the visitors in their quest to close the gap between themselves and safety they were forced to come out of their shell a little in the last ten minutes. In 81^st minute Summerfield combined well with substitute Jake Whitmore on the right before the Greenbacks sub drove in a low cross that just evaded Gibson sliding in at the back post. 

Seymour-Shove was brought down just outside the box in 84^th minute, but the free kick came to nothing. Three minutes later Newman combined well with Kelly on the left to create a bit of space for Parker to deliver the ball into the box. Cartwright rose above the defence at the back post and directed his header down into the mix just inches in front of Newman who had continued his run into the box.

Only a minute later the Greenbacks went close to snatching an unlikely victory as a Rowe corner from the left was headed goal wards by Fitzharris, Jackson was on hand to knock the ball away from almost off the goal line but it fell to Rowe who delivered another dangerous cross to the near post where Gibson flicked it inches over the top.

The visitor’s will again feel hard done by as lady luck again deserted them as the game entered added time. Keeper Harrison sprinted from his line to just beat Newman to a clip through from Sundire. But the keeper’s momentum on the damp turf took him sliding outside the box. The eagle-eyed officials spotted his misdemeanour and the obligatory red card for denying a goal scoring opportunity followed. With no substitute keeper on the bench centre back Maslen-Jones was forced to don the gauntlets. Unfortunately for the emergency stopper his first task was to pick the ball out of the net as Parker’s driven free kick beat everyone in the crowded box and arrived at the back post where an unmarked Jackson had time to take a touch before slamming the ball home to claim his first goal on his home debut for the Ives.

There was still time for the visitors to have one last chance to get something out of the game as they won a corner in the fifth added minute allowing Maslen-Jones to join his eight remaining colleagues in the Ives box. The ball fell to late substitute Iyseden Christie who saw his close-range effort blocked and hacked to safety to allow the hosts to claim a very hard fought three points that moves them a little further away from the drop zone and maintains the momentum with the busy Christmas period looming.    

Final Score : St Ives Town  2  Bedworth United  1

Goals :  Fitzharris (own goal) 74, Jackson 90+3

Team : Conway, Jackson, De’ath, Sundire, Cartwright, Jarvis Wilson, Baker (Newman 68), Parker (capt), Snaith, Kelly, Seymour-Shove

Unused subs : Hood, Wallis, Ward, Bailey

Supporters man of the match : Munashe Sundire

Attendance : 166

Report by Nigel Howlett. Photos by Louise Thompson

St Ives Town 2 Banbury United 2

Evo-Stik League Southern Premier Division Central – 24-11-18

The final whistle on this rather odd but entertaining game left both sides wondering if the result was really one point gained, or two dropped. Ives had the perfect start going two up inside the first five minutes, but to compensate the Puritans pulled back an excellent goal in 18^th minute and then played against ten men for the last half an hour after Jake Newman’s dismissal for two yellow cards. Although the visitors then enjoyed in excess of 80 percent possession for the remaining time it looked like Ives were going to hold out until a defensive mix up gifted Puritans skipper Ricky Johnson an equaliser with six minutes to go.

The game started in explosive and controversial style as Ives went in front immediately from the kick off. The ball was channelled back to keeper Martin Conway and his long ball down the right was taken down just inside the touchline by Ben Baker. The assistant on that side waved his flag indicating that he felt Danny Kelly had unfairly nudged his marker Johnson as they both went for and missed the ball in the air. Referee Stephen Bates immediately overruled his assistant and waved play on. The Puritans defenders made the schoolboy error of not playing to the whistle and stopped. Baker instantly seized the opportunity and cut in on goal. His shot from a narrow angle was blocked by the legs of keeper Emmanuel Agboola but Jake Newman was following up and rammed home the loose ball to put Ives in front with only eighteen seconds on the watch. The reaction of the Banbury players and bench was perhaps understandable as they surrounded Mr Bates but after a short discussion with his assistant the goal was allowed to stand.

To give them their due the visitors instant reaction was to go straight down the other end and come within millimetres of an equaliser as Eddie Odhiambo and Harry Whitehead combined on the right with the latter playing a ball into the feet of Steve Diggin who turned on it in a flash and crashed a drive against Conway’s right hand post with the keeper beaten.

The break neck pace of the start did not slacken and there were only five minutes on the clock when Danny Kelly capitalised on an error from keeper Agboola to double the hosts advantage. Munashe Sundire clipped a ball over the top for Newman to chase. Agboola was very quickly off his line to hack the ball away from outside his box but his clearance was a poor one and the ball fell to the feet of Kelly fully forty yards from goal. The striker showed admiral composure to take a touch and curl an exquisite repost over the head of the stranded custodian one bounce and into the net.

The game continued in end to end fashion with both sides still looking for more goals. The Puritans found a route back into the game with a very well taken goal in 18^th minute. Greg Kazibondi ran at the Ives defence committing defenders before laying the ball off to Giorgio Rasulo just outside the box. The silky midfielder took the shot on first time and hit a crisp low right footed drive that beat the diving Conway low to his right and nestled in the bottom corner of the net.

There was still an undertone of antagonism in the game and referee Bates found it necessary to brandish a small bunch of cards in the ten minutes before the break. Ravi Shamsi was the first to get one for going down in acrobatic style, although untouched by a defender, as he burst into the box from the right. This card was quickly followed by one to Rasulo for pulling back Sundire in the centre circle. Newman and Charlie Wise had been having a running battle up to this point and each picked up a card for fouling the other in the 42^nd and 43^rd minutes to take the card count up to four in nine minutes.

Back to the action and it took two brilliant saves from Agboola to keep his side in the game in the last few seconds before the break. Three minutes into added time Robbie Parker swung in a free kick from the left Newman managed to lose his marker in the centre and rose unmarked to power in a header from ten yards that saw Agboola leap high to his right to fingertip the ball over the top. The resulting corner was taken short to Owen Wallis who delivered a dangerous cross to the near post where Newman again managed to get ahead of his man and power in another header which was this time straight at Agboola who reacted well to push the ball up into the air with his defenders coming to his aid to scramble the ball away.

The second half started more quietly than the first with both sides quickly closing each other down and neither able to build any momentum. The first opportunity after the restart came in 58^th minute. Keeper Agboola came for a high hanging free kick from just inside his own half by Conway. But with friend and foe alike in his way the keeper was struggling to get there and spilled the ball at the feet of Jarvis Wilson his snap shot looked to be on target but hit the body of Kelly and bounced out for a goal kick.

The game changing moment arrived on the hour as Newman was fouled in the centre circle by Johnson but rather than going down ploughed on into his main antagonist of the afternoon Wise seeming to kick out at the Puritans big centre back. Referee Bates waited whilst all three protagonists received treatment before administering a first yellow of the afternoon to Johnson but much more importantly a second to the unwise Newman.

Down to ten men Ives quickly reorganised to try and preserve their advantage for the remaining half an hour. Kelly quickly found himself a lone striker with the rest of the Ives side fairly well dug in around their own box. Initially the Puritans did not change their tactics and continued their bombardment of high balls into Ives box. These were generally dealt with very effectively by the hosts eighteen year old centre back pairing of Jarvis Wilson and Sam Cartwright.

However having seen this tactic was not working Banbury manager Mike Ford decided to go three at the back sacrificing full back Whitehead for an extra midfielder in Jack Finch. He could also be heard imploring his charges to keep the ball and pass it around to try and draw Ives out of their defensive shell and move them around. The hard working hosts still continued to frustrate their visitors by keeping them at bay and as the game entered the last ten minutes the struggling visitors had still been unable to use their numerical advantage to force a real save out of keeper Conway. 

As a last resort Ford decided to throw centre back and skipper Johnson forward as another big target man and to go back to throwing balls into the box. Sadly for Ives it was one of these which proved their undoing and allowed the visitors to get back on terms with six minutes to go. Substitute John Mills delivered a ball from the right that for once the hosts back line struggled to deal with it got out to Kazibondi beyond the back post. He headed it back into the mix where two Ives defenders seemed to get in each other’s way allowing the ball to drop to Johnson who could not believe his luck as he prodded it home from close range.

Having lost their lead it looked likely that the tiring Ives might struggle to hang on for a point but they lifted themselves to one final effort to ensure that they ended up with something from the game. They managed to restrict the Puritans to just a couple of half chances in the remaining time. As the game entered added time substitute Mark Bell exchanged passes with Kazibondi to work their way into the box. When the shot finally came in there were two Ives players willing to put their bodies on the line as the hurled themselves into the line of the ball. Wise rose highest to the resulting corner but pressure from Wilson ensure that he could not direct his header goalwards.

The Ives lifted themselves another level for the remaining four minutes managing to spend most of it in the visitor’s half without offering any real threat to their goal. So the game ended with honours even and both sides feeling that they had let a real opportunity for three points slip by. Jake Newman brings a real threat to the Ives front line, he also brings the best out of those around him as is shown by the match sponsors awarding the man of the match accolade to his striker partner Danny Kelly for the second week in a row. However he must learn to keep his head as he clearly had the beating of Wise on the day and with the big centre back also on a yellow card it was quite likely if Newman had continued to pressurise him it would have been the Puritans centre back who would have picked up a second yellow card. But on such fine margins games are decided. Newman will miss our trip to League leaders Kettering next week but will be back for the vital home game with struggling Bedworth in two week’s time.

Final Score : St Ives Town  2  Banbury United  2

Goals :  Newman 1, Kelly 5

Team : Conway, Hood, Wallis, Sundire, Cartwright, Jarvis Wilson, Baker, Parker (capt), Newman, Kelly (Bailey 81), Snaith (Seymour-Shove 89)

Unused subs : Jackson, Dylan Wilson

Sponsors man of the match : Danny Kelly

Attendance : 179

Report by Nigel Howlett. Photos by Louise Thompson

St Ives Town 2 Halesowen Town 0

Evo-Stik League Southern Premier Division Central – 17-11-18

New faces can certainly freshen up a team that has been down on its luck and that was exactly the case in this game as Ives claimed their first home win since the opening day of the season and their first maximum return in of any sort in the League since August Bank Holiday Monday.

Striker Jake Newman joined the Ives in the week from Peterborough Sports and although not scoring himself on his home debut he proved to be the catalyst for the hosts upturn in fortunes as they ended the visiting Yeltz five game unbeaten run. Newman showed his qualities as early as the sixth minute as he latched onto a long ball out of defence and tested visiting keeper Cameron Gregory with a stinging drive from just inside the left hand corner of the box that the keeper was pleased to push away.

Ives have found efforts on goal few and far between during their recent struggles and Newman again showed that he looks very likely to go a long way towards overcoming this problem as he struck another powerful effort at goal only six minutes later. Newman’s presence in the side seemed to be lifting his colleagues around him to greater endeavours and this second opportunity came courtesy of a Danny Kelly flick onto another long ball forward. Newman instantly latched onto the loose ball but hammered his first time effort from 20 yards well over the top.

The early Ives pressure brought reward in 19^th minute as Kelly threaded a ball through the left channel to try to put Ben Baker away. Kieran Morris looked favourite to cut the ball out but made the fatal mistake of taking his eye off the rolling ball allowing it to bobble over his foot leaving Baker clear to bear down on the exposed Gregory. The young striker tried to thread the ball through the keeper’s legs and although Gregory got a touch to it he could not prevent it from rolling home to set Ives on their way.

The Yeltz tried to go for an instant response and striker Lewis Reilly should have done better only two minutes later. He and Ravi Shamsi exchanged passes down the left before Shamsi’s slide rule pass into the centre forward’s run put him clear into the box. The angle was narrow and as home keeper Martin Conway came to meet him Reilly unleashed a flashing drive that beat Conway but flew wide of the far post.

The remainder of the first half was an even affair contested mainly in the centre of the park where home skipper Robbie Parker and Munashe Sundire were working like Trojans to ensure that the visitors pairing of Asa Charlton and Danny Bragoli had no time on the ball. Neither keeper had a save to make in this period and the only noteworthy shot came from Yeltz full back Brad Lewis in 33^rd minute as he latched onto a corner that was cleared to him 30 yards from goal but his low skimming drive thudded the boards five yards wide of Conway’s left hand post.

The visitors probably got a roasting from their management crew at half time and were out early for the start of the second half. Although the Yeltz did try to lift their pace in the early stages Ives matched them for effort and effectively cancelled out any anticipated early pressure although keeper Conway did have to make his only real save of the afternoon in 50^th minute as he tipped over a Dean Hawkshaw header from ten yards after the visitors number eleven had got across in front of Jarvis Wilson to get on the end of Lewis’s cross from the right.

Having weathered that early period of pressure Ives were soon creating more chances of their own at the other end. In 55^th minute the hard working Ollie Snaith curled an excellent cross field pass to pick out the run of Baker cutting in from the right. The speedy wide man took a touch and went for goal only for the shot to be blocked by a desperate lunge from the covering Jack Kelly. 

Sundire was playing in Tom McGowan’s midfield position and like his predecessor he was putting in the hard yards. He showed his defensive qualities were not lacking in 66^th minute as he tracked the run of Reilly as the centre forward tried to get on the end Shamsi’s free kick at the near post. Sundire bravely threw himself in to get to the ball first and put it out for a corner. The resulting flag kick dropped in the Ives box but was smuggled away by the ever reliable Parker.

The Yeltz did get the ball in the net eight minutes later as Lewis got on the end of a deep Shamsi free kick at the back post and headed home but the flag had gone up early as the full back roving forward had got himself into an offside position.

The whole Ives side continued to work tirelessly to preserve their lead with Jarvis Wilson, Sam Cartwright and Robbie Parker particularly to the fore but also full backs Joe Hood and Owen Wallis both in unfamiliar positions with Hood on the left and Wallis in Hood’s usual role on the right were doing a sterling job preventing crosses going into the box. 

Parker took one for the team in 78^th minute as he unceremoniously halted an Ivor Lawton run 30 yards from goal just as it looked like the Yeltz centre back was going to pull the trigger. Shamsi wasted the resulting free kick from an excellent central position as he played it straight at the first defender.

Having played his part in the victory the tiring Newman departed the stage four minutes from the end of the ninety to rapturous applause from the home faithful. He was replaced by a different sort of front man in Ben Seymour-Shove and it was the substitute who made the points safe two minutes into added time as with the Yeltz pushing forward in search of an equaliser Snaith picked him out in space inside the box. Seymour-Shove even had time to take a touch before picking his spot and firing low past the exposed Gregory from fifteen yards.

Newman’s presence not only unsettled the opposition it also lifted his team mates to perform above the level of some of their recent appearances. On a afternoon when everyone on the Ives side would have been worthy of at least a seven out of ten many in the ground would have probably picked Newman as their star man but the sponsors for the day did not go for the simple choice they went for a much more considered option and instead picked the man who put in a performance that we all know he is capable of, but have probably not seen often enough. Step forward the enigmatic Danny Kelly who will hopefully grab a few more of these.

The result lifts Ives above local rivals St Neots in the table and even more importantly it moves them four points away from the dreaded bottom three. With their next two home games also against opposition in the lower half of the table lets hope we can put a run together to increase that daylight between ourselves and the relegation zone.

Final Score : St Ives Town  2  Halesowen Town  0

Goals :  Baker 19, Seymour-Shove 90+2

Team : Conway, Hood, Wallis, Sundire, Cartwright, Jarvis Wilson, Baker, Parker (capt), Newman (Seymour-Shove 86), Kelly, Snaith 

Unused subs : Patrick, Jackson, Dylan Wilson, Bailey

Sponsors man of the match : Danny Kelly

Attendance : 178

Report by Nigel Howlett. Photos by Louise Thompson

St Ives Town 0 Stratford Town 2

Evo-Stik League Southern Premier Division Central – 03-11-18

Once again failure to dead with dead ball situations into the box cost Ives dearly as the in- form Town came to Westwood Road and returned to the Midlands with all three points without ever really needing to get out of second gear.

The visitors had the perfect start as they took the lead inside the first fifty seconds. Ives kicked off and delivered the ball intended for wide man Ben Baker straight into touch. The throw saw the ball manoeuvred into the hosts half where Sam Cartwright committed a foul in a wide left position. Will Grocott swung the ball in out of the sun and whilst goalkeeper Sam Wilson and his defenders seemed to lose the in-swinging ball Town’s Chris Cox had no problems as he rose unchallenged in the heart of the penalty area and flicked the ball home past the static Wilson from ten yards.

With Ives already low on confidence this early set back was the last thing they wanted and it took them some time to make any meaningful penetrations into the visitors final third of the pitch. Their first real opportunity came in 19^th minute and involved a good Baker run across the face of the Town defence. He fed the ball wide left to Ben Seymour-Shove who got around the outside of Cox before picking out Charlie De’ath with his pull back. The Ives centre back took on the shot first time but curled his left footed effort well over the top of Richard Walton’s goal.

Another Grocott free kick from an almost identical position to the first one proved the catalyst for a second Town goal. Full back Mark Coulson just managed to prevent Cox repeating his first minute act but the Ives defender’s excellent clearing header over his own crossbar gave Grocott the chance to once more show his skills from a dead ball situation. His in-swinging corner from the left somehow got right through Ives six yard box to arrive at the back post where Town leading scorer Mike Taylor stooped to nod the ball home from point blank range.

The hosts suffered another blow only a couple of minutes after going two down as one of this season’s most consistent players Coulson was forced out of the game with an injury that saw him replaced by Jarvis Wilson. Ives reshuffle saw Wilson go in alongside Sam Cartwright to reform the successful centre back partnership of early season with Charlie De’ath replacing Coulson at left back.

Although Ives continued to work hard their struggles against a bigger, stronger, more physical side matched similar efforts in recent games. Long balls out of defence were being comfortably dealt with by Town centre back pairing of Jamie McAteer and Jordan Williams. Attempts to play through the centre were being thwarted by the visitor’s powerful central midfield pairing and in wide positions the ball was to often played in the air towards Baker, or Seymour-Shove giving them little opportunity to run at their opponents. The only Ives players winning the physical battles against their opposite numbers were Cartwright and Wilson and even they were being pushed on occasions by the movement and power of Grocott and Taylor.

The only other chance carved out by either side before the break went the way of the visitors three minutes before the interval as the tricky Wilson Carvalho found some space on the left and delivered his cross to the near post where Taylor got in front of Cartwright but steered his header just wide.

Manager Ricky Marheineke made an early tactical change at the break as he replaced Baker with the bigger presence of Danny Kelly to try and give the Town back line something a little different to think about. Ives did create one opportunity to get back into the game on the hour. Seymour-Shove won a corner which he himself delivered from the left. Keeper Walton misjudged the in-swinger and completely missed the ball inside the six yard box. Cartwright was arriving behind him, but the centre back was always stretching and only succeeded in powering his header well over the topfrom close range.

Ives struggles to find a way through continued, but the visitors continued to look comfortable on their two goal lead and they again went close to increasing their advantage in 69^th minute. Cox continued to be a thorn in Ives side throughout the afternoon and he was fed in down the right by Albi Skendi. Joe Hood just managed to turn his cross to the back post away from the lurking Carvalho but the ball fell to Grocott just outside the box. For once the number tens skills let him down as he curled his effort inches over the top with Wilson scrambling to get across to it.

Grocott was given another chance to test Wilson in 80^th minute as Bailey struggling to clear a corner brought down substitute Isaac Kynan inside the D. Grocott got the free kick up and over the wall only to be denied as Wilson hurled himself full length to his right to spectacularly turn the ball away.

The visitors went close to adding to their lead twice more in next four minutes. Taylor showed his strength and power to turn Jarvis Wilson and get away from him to get a run on goal in 82^nd minute. But the big Town forward had not anticipated the speed and tenacity of Wilson as the Ives centre back made a remarkable recovery to catch and cleanly dispossess the big man just as he shaped to shoot. Hood came to Ives rescue two minutes later as Skendi and Grocott combined in a move that saw the former slide a ball through to put the latter clear into the box. Hood put his body on the line as he bravely hurled himself in to block the shot at point blank range.

The hosts did not give up and pushed forward in search of a route back into the game right to the death. They wasted an opportunity to test Walton three minutes from time as a rampaging De’ath was hauled down 30 yards from goal by Town substitute James Fry. Robbie Parker went for goal with the free kick but cleared the crossbar by a metre.

Keeper Walton had to make his only real save of the game three minutes into added time. A deep free kick into the box was headed back into the mix by De’ath and fell into a melee of legs just outside the six yard box. An attempted clearance struck substitute Ollie Snaith and rebounded at goal but Walton was equal to it getting down quickly to block the shot and smother the ball to kill any lingering hopes Ives supporters had of an unlikely late rally.

Town manager Thomas Baillie will be happy with a routine three points on the road, but perhaps a little less happy with unnecessary late bookings for Williams, Skendi and Kynan. Ives manager Ricky Marheineke on the other hand has a much more difficult task of somehow rediscovering the early season form that showed so much promise, a dip into the transfer market was being muted to freshen up the squad. Whatever is done it needs to happen quickly before losing becomes a real habit and Ives find themselves in the dreaded bottom three.        

Final Score : St Ives Town  0  Stratford Town  2

Goals :  none

Team : Sam Wilson, Hood, Coulson (Jarvis Wilson 28), Wallis, Cartwright, De’ath, Baker (Kelly 45), Parker (capt), Bailey, Sundire, Seymour-Shove (Snaith 80)

Unused subs : Dylan Wilson, Patrick

Man of the match : Robbie Parker

Attendance : 181

Report by Nigel Howlett. Photos by Louise Thompson

St Ives Town 0 Leiston 2

Evo-Stik League Southern Premier Division Central – 23-10-18

Technology is slowly finding its way into football although it is unlikely to filter down to non-League level for a long time, if ever. However had it been in place for this game there could have been a very different outcome as even if goal line technology had ruled that Ben Baker’s close range effort eight minutes from time had been clawed back into play without crossing the goal line by Blues keeper Marcus Garnham one of two very good shouts for a penalty as Dylan Wilson was bundled down in the box may well have been awarded by a video referee.

On the evening all of the decisions from the officials on the pitch went against the Ives condemning them to a fifth straight defeat in a row and pushing them ever closer to the relegation zone. All this in spite of a very promising showing against their play off chasing visitors. An even first period when Ives fell behind to a very well taken goal from Blues leading scorer Christy Finch was followed by a second half of excellent attacking play from the hosts that but for the heroics of Garnham would have seen them grab a well deserved equaliser. A break away second three minutes from time put an undeserved gloss on the score line for the visitors.

Ives went into the game missing two of this seasons star performers with both Jarvis Wilson and Tom McGowan unavailable. Owen Wallis dropped back from midfield alongside Sam Cartwright in the centre of defence with Munashe Sundire taking an unfamiliar role in the centre of the park replacing McGowan a position we were to find as the evening wore on that he relished. In other changes from Saturday’s heavy defeat at Rushall George Bailey came into midfield and the very promising Dylan Wilson replaced the recently disappointing Danny Kelly at centre forward.

Although sitting in sixth place as they came into this game the visitors found themselves without a manager. Reserve manager Ian Cornforth and director of football Trevor Elmy were in the dugout for the game. In spite of their backroom problems it was the visitors who started the game of the front foot. Ives keeper Sam Wilson struggled to deal with an eleventh minute corner under heavy pressure. The loose ball was half cleared an eventually fell to Jake Reed who fired over from a good position.

But the Ives were less fortunate three minutes later as Seb Dunbar and Patrick Brothers combined down the left. The latter’s cross to the near post area was excellently taken down by the skilful Finch who in one move turned Wallis and fired across the despairing dive of Wilson into the bottom corner of the net.

Although Ives were enjoying an even amount of possession with Sundire, Bailey and Snaith all working like Trojans in a crowded midfield it was the visitors who continued to look the more dangerous side when they broke forward. A quick Blues break in 23^rd minute saw Kyle Hammond get down the right on the overlap his driven cross arrived at the feet of Finch at the back post and it took a brave last ditch block from Wallis to prevent the visitor’s striker adding to his opener.

Ives first strike on goal arrived two minutes later as a poor clearance from Joe Jefford went straight to the feet of Bailey in a central position 25 yards from goal. The striker turned midfielder took a touch but fired his well struck drive straight into the midriff of the well positioned Garnham.

Ives first shout for a penalty came just after the half hour as Wilson got a run on Blues skipper Tom Bullard cutting in from the right at pace he got into the box before Bullard came in with a clumsy challenge that took down the hard working striker. Referee Stephen Bates was well positioned but waved away the appeals. Would a video referee have come to a different conclusion?

Ives continued to work very hard all over the pitch without managing to carve out another opportunity before the break. The Blues on the other hand continued to look dangerous every time they broke. In 36^th minute Brothers again fed the overlapping Dunbar down the left. This time the full back cut in and went for goal flashing his low drive just past the far post. The same two players combined again three minutes later with Brothers providing a low cross to the near post that Byron Lawrence turned wide.

The final opportunity of the first half two minutes into added time also went the way of the visitors. Finch played in Lawrence on the right and his driven cross flashed across goal just evading Reed at the far post.

Ives came out for the second half determined to give it a real go. Ben Seymour-Shove curled a 25 yard effort inches wide only three minutes after the re-start. Wilson had his second, and probably best, shout for a penalty turned down three minutes later. This time he got away from Jefford and got a run into the box forcing Bullard to come across and commit to the challenge from an awkward angle sending the Ives striker tumbling. But again the well positioned Mr Bates deemed it a fair tackle. The Ives pressure continued but their apparent eagerness to gain a spot kick out of referee Bates went a little to far in 54^th minute and Seymour-Shove picked up a yellow card for simulation as he went down inside the box following minimal contact from Hammond. 

The hosts continued to press forward at every opportunity and in 59^th minute Cartwright in the opposition box for a free kick got an unwanted flick on a Mark Coulson cross from the left to take the ball away from Wilson and Seymour-Shove both waiting to pounce behind him.

Garnham pulled off a spectacular save to preserve his sides lead three minutes later. Robbie Parker pounced on a loose ball 25 yards from goal took a touch and unleashed a rocket that had goal written all over it as it arrowed in on the big keepers top left hand corner. But he was equal to it hurling himself high to his left to just get enough on the ball to deflect it over the top.

The pressure continued to mount on the Blues back line in 66^th minute Seymour-Shove outpaced Hammond down the left and delivered a teasing cross into the centre that evaded everyone. Joe Hood kept the ball alive and delivered it back into the mix, but still failed to pick out a team mate in the crowded box.

The visitors did carve out one opportunity to finish the game amid the Ives purple patch in 72^nd minute as Brothers got away down the left and delivered a low cross into the near post where Lawrence got across his man and got his close range effort on target but keeper Wilson did well blocking the effort and holding onto the ball at the second attempt.

Back up the other end Garnham was up to his heroics again in 82^nd minute as he pulled off an amazing save to preserve his sides lead. Coulson was again roaming forward and drove in a cross from the left that struck a defender’s chest and fell to Wilson inside the box. He unselfishly squared the ball across the six yard line from a narrow angle substitute Ben Baker was arriving at the back post and outmuscled Dunbar to get his effort on goal. Amazingly the out of position Garnham made up ground and hurled himself across goal to paw the ball away from under his crossbar. In spite of all Ives protestations that the ball had crossed the line the well positioned assistant on the near side deemed it had not.

Even after that set back Ives continued to pile forward with the back from injury Charlie De’ath and Danny Kelly both sent on to add weight to the attack. Sundire who had covered every blade of grass on the night took things into his own hands with five minutes to go as he burst forward on a run that took him into the box. His attempted shot ricocheted off a defender and fell to Baker on the edge of the box but the young wide man failed to get over the dropping ball and his effort sailed harmlessly over the top.

As so often happens when a team is throwing everything forward to try and grab an equaliser their opposition gets a break away to clinch the points and that is exactly the fate that befell the Ives. With three minutes to go Reed broke away at pace getting past the last Ives defender before unselfishly rolling the ball square to give substitute Cemal Ramadan a tap in to finish off the gallant hosts.

This performance was a massive step up from the disappointment of the weekend, but unfortunately the result extends the Ives losing run to five games. This decline must be arrested quickly as with the table as tight as it is a couple of positive results could lift the team half a dozen places. This weekend provides the chance of a second visit to AFC Rushden & Diamonds in a month. This time for an FA Trophy tie, the previous game was a very tight and cagy affair can we expect more of the same as we search that elusive win to get what started as such a promising season back on track?.   

Final Score : St Ives Town  0  Leiston  2

Goals :  none

Team : Sam Wilson, Hood, Coulson, Sundire, Cartwright, Bailey (De’ath 83), Wallis, Parker (capt), Dylan Wilson (Kelly 83), Snaith (Baker 69), Seymour-Shove

Unused subs : Moyes, Patrick

Man of the match : Munashe Sundire

Attendance : 111

Report by Nigel Howlett. Photos by Louise Thompson.

St Ives Town 0 Biggleswade Town  1

Evostik Southern League Premier Division Central – 16-10-18

Two sides both very quick to close down their opponents all over the pitch and an excellent referee willing to allow the game to flow whenever possible lead to an old fashioned game of football where crunching tackles and safety first defending were much more in evidence than cultured passing. Neither manager appears to be a connoisseur of playing out from back and with the break neck speed of the first half it was almost a case of the two sides completely cancelling each other out with their identical playing styles each only registering a single effort at goal in the first 45 minutes.

The pace inevitably slowed a little after the break but chances remained very few and far between throughout the Waders grabbing the victory in a move just before the hour which involved their only two shots on target in the entire evening. Ives battled hard and matched their more illustrious opponents work rate but their lack of fire power was again in evidence as they failed to force a single save out of visiting keeper Sam Donkin in the ninety minutes. 

The hosts evening started with good news as rugged centre back Jarvis Wilson came through a pre-match fitness test to take his place in the starting line up allowing Owen Wallis to revert to his more familiar midfield role, Ollie Snaith being the man to make way. The only other changes from Saturday’s defeat at Alvechurch were returns to the starting eleven for Danny Kelly and Ben Baker at the expense of Munashe Sundire and Jordan Patrick.

The Waders had two ex Ives men in their line up and the pair combined to carve out the first opportunity of the evening in ninth minute. Jack Bradshaw delivering a deep cross from the right that evaded Ives defenders and was excellently taken down on the edge of the box by Peter Clark. Fortunately for the hosts Clark’s finish did not match his touch as he fired high and wide from a very good position.

The visitor’s up and at them style was giving them a slight edge in the early exchanges but Ives were equally quick to get in the faces of their opponents and neither side were able to build any real momentum or even enjoy any length of time in possession. The only times the hectic pace of the game slowed were at free kicks hence all of the other attempts worthy of note in the first period came from dead ball situations.

Hosts keeper Sam Wilson had to be alert to move his feet quickly and punch away a dangerous in-swinging free kick from the left delivered by Matt Ball in 15^th minute. Ives best chance of the game fell to Wallis two minutes later as he managed to drop off and lose his man at the back post to earn himself space for a free header to a deep Robbie Parker free kick from the right. Caught in two minds whether to head the ball back into the mix or go for goal he tried for the latter but failed to get over the ball and did not trouble Donkin as his powerful header flew a couple of feet over the crossbar.

The pace continued with each side continuing to cancel out the other as referee Tim Donnellan resisted the temptation to go for his whistle unless he had to and allowed the game to flow like a mountain stream in the spring time. One occasion when referee Donnellan did have to resort to his whistle was in 37^th minute as Clark very clumsily took down Baker by the left touchline as the young winger looked to get away. Many a match official would have deemed the foul worthy of a yellow card but referee Donnellan simply deemed it a clumsy challenge and allowed Clark to get away with a talking to a decision that was to prove vital to the direction of the game seconds before the break. 

Parker delivered the resulting free kick deep again and keeper Donkin was perhaps fortunate to get away with his misjudgement as he got underneath the cross and just managed to palm the ball away from his goal. It fell to Jarvis Wilson beyond the far post but his attempt to clip the ball back into the danger zone struck Lucas Perry and went out for a throw.

Thanks to four quite lengthy periods of treatment for different players there were six added minutes at the end of the first half. Tom McGowan managed to pick himself up the first yellow card of the evening in the fifth of these as he fouled Ball 25 yards from goal and then tried to argue with referee Donnellan over the decision. Ball picked himself up and went for goal with the free kick but his shot ricocheted off the Ives wall and went for a corner. The same player delivered the flag kick into the mix where Cartwright rose above the crowd to head the ball away. The centre back’s under pressure header dropped on the edge of the box where George Bailey went to complete the clearance as he did so Clark came flying in and raked a boot down his shin. Referee Donnellan was right on the spot and after a brief discussion with the offender brandished the yellow card to the Waders midfielder who must have realised how fortunate he was that was his first yellow card of the evening. 

The challenge right on half time ended Bailey’s evening with Sundire replacing the Ives striker. The Waders also made an enforced change at the break replacing their skipper Kieron Forbes with Lucas Kirkpatrick. The first chance of the second period fell to the Ives as McGowan drilled a precise cross field pass into the feet of Baker wide left. The Ives winger cut inside at pace running across the face of the visitor’s back line before teeing up a shooting chance for Wallis just outside the D. The Ives midfielder snatched at the chance and only succeeded in dragging his first time effort wide of Donkin’s right hand post.

The only goal of the evening arrived in 58^th minute a quick throw in on the half way line picked out Josh Urquhart in space his pass into the feet of Ball saw the midfielder pick out Martell Powell inside the box. Unusually on this evening Powell found just enough space to turn and fired in a low shot through the crowd. Keeper Wilson saw it late and did well to get down to his right to make the save but he could only parry the ball back into play where Joe White pounced to ram it home from close range.

Ives were rocked by falling behind and Waders centre back David Longe-King had an excellent opportunity to double the visitors lead only two minutes later. Long throw expert Perry saw one of his mortars into the box returned to him and teed up Bradshaw to return the ball into the mix. Long-King rose highest at the back post but failed to hit the target with his powerful header from ten yards.

The hosts were still well in the game and continued to work like Trojans to try and find a route through but this Waders back line is a very solid unit and with the rest of their comrades ensuring that no opposition player had any time on the ball it was certainly not going to be easy. The only time that they really came at all close to rattling on the door even a little was a brief sustained period of pressure around twenty minutes from time that saw goal bound shots from Kelly and Baker blocked away defenders.

In spite of changing the tiring Kelly for Dylan Wilson and sacrificing defensive midfielder Wallis to throw on Ben Seymour-Shove Ives were unable to penetrate the Waders fortress sufficiently to force a save out of Donkin in the remaining time.

Just to show how tight this division is this season we had the crazy situation where if this result had gone the other way the Ives would have joined the Waders on fifteen points but as it is the visitor’s leap into a play-off place as the Ives slip further down the table to fifteenth.    

Final Score :  St Ives Town  0  Biggleswade Town  1

Goals :  none

Team : Sam Wilson, Hood, Coulson, McGowan, Cartwright, Jarvis Wilson, Wallis (Seymour-Shove 78), Parker (capt), Kelly (Dylan Wilson 78), Bailey (Sundire 45), Baker 

Unused subs : Moyes, Snaith

Supporters Man of the match : Joe Hood

Attendance : 267

Report by Nigel Howlett. Photos by Louise Thompson