St Ives Town 1 v Leiston 3
Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central 16-11-2024
Nigel Howlett reports
Wing back Aaron Smith’s fierce early drive to net his first goal for Ives was the real bright spark of an afternoon where the hosts worked very hard but failed to find that little bit of extra quality that was needed to find a way to beat very resilient opponents. Ultimately it was Ives mistakes that ensured that it was the travelling Blues who took the spoils to stretch their unbeaten league run to seven games and take some small smidgen of revenge for last season’s thumping in this fixture.
Following last Saturdays win at play off chasing Bedford Ives went in search of more firepower and were pleased to bring in prolific marksman Josh Allen from AFC Sudbury who made his debut in this fixture replacing Albie O’Keefe who has returned to Stevenage where he is an integral part of their FA Youth Cup side. The only other change from last weekend’s successful line up was an enforced one with Jernade Meade away on international duty with Montserrat Peter Abimbola came into central midfield. Leiston manager Chris Wigger perhaps unsurprisingly named an unchanged side.
The match started in explosive style with Allen very quickly showing his prowess as provider for Smith’s opener only four minutes in. Fed into the bye line by Johnson Gyamfi’s threaded pass Allen had the presence of mind to pick out Smith in space at the back of the box with his pull back. Smith certainly seized the opportunity thumping his first time effort into the roof of the net past the despairing dive of Billy Johnson in the visitor’s goal.
Ives continued to press with Gyamfi and Will Glennon at the heart of their forward play. A 12th minute interchange of passes involving those two and Amir Hadi ended with Allen firing a crisp low drive from the edge of the box that Johnson did well to keep out plunging low to his right to palm the ball away.
But the Blues were not about to lie down and allow themselves to be overrun during this early period and they carved out an excellent opportunity to equalise three minutes later. George Quantrell got away down the left and got to the bye line before picking out Jamar Loza with his pull back. Under little pressure from defenders Loza should have scored but much to Ives relief he blazed his first time effort over the top.
Back up the other end Allen again went close to a debut goal in 18th minute. Glennon rose to flick on Dan Wilks punt and Allen pounced on to the loose ball before firing a left foot effort from just inside the box that was saved in unorthodox style by the feet of keeper Johnson.
Next came what proved to be the incident which may well have changed the course of the game as the attacking fulcrum in the centre of Ives midfield Gyamfi succumbed to an injury picked up in the visitor’s 15th minute attack. Gyamfi was replaced by Ethan Creary with Kymani Skyers moving up into midfield. But Skyers is more a dynamic midfielder than a man to thread the crucial pass and as Gyamfi departed so did Ives attacking threat for the remainder of the first half.
From that point midway through the first half the Blues began to get on top and it was only a matter of time before they started to create opportunities. Ollie Saunders fired a 23rd minute effort across the face of goal from the left corner of the box after he had latched onto Loza’s cross from the right. Four minutes later Quantrell and Loza combined well on the right with Wilks being forced to parry the latter’s fierce drive away. A 37th minute Fraser Alexander free kick from the right was headed just wide at the near post by Ben Fowkes.
The equaliser did eventually arrive six minutes before the break as Quantrell and Loza again combined well through the right channel. But keeper Wilks will be a little disappointed as Loza’s eventual shot from just outside the box seemed to squirm under his dive on its way into the back of the net.
The second half started as the first had ended with the visitors on top. Wilks was called into action only forty seconds after the restart as he reacted well to parry Ismael Botelho Fatadjo’s fierce drive and his defenders came to his aid to block away Fowkes follow up effort. Wilks did well again three minutes later as he blocked Fowkes close range effort with his body after a corner from the right had dropped at the centre forwards feet at the back post.
Ives raids at this point in the game were sporadic but still threatening and it took a fantastic diving save from the acrobatic Johnson to keep out Skyers thunderbolt from fully thirty yards after a corner had been cleared to the powerful midfielder in 51st minute.
Back at the other end it took a brave save from Wilks to save the blushes of Creary three minutes later. The defender’s attempted header back to his keeper dropped woefully short and Fowkes seized on the ball but Wilks was out swiftly and spread himself to make the block at point blank range. The Ives keeper was in action again three minutes later leaping high to his left to tip over Quantrell’s rising drive from the edge of the box after the Blues striker had been fed in through the left channel by Loza.
The Blues made their comeback complete by going in front on the hour but it is another goal that Ives will want to forget. Saunders and Quantrell combined down the left with the latter delivering a low cross into the centre that Wilks dived to claim only to have the ball taken away from him by a defender. Loza gratefully seized onto the gift and lofted the loose ball into the empty net.
Ives tried to lift themselves to get back on terms. Abimbola picked out Allen in space on the right and the pacy number ten cut inside before firing in an effort from the edge of the box that was straight at Johnson who made a comfortable save. But the visitors were still looking very dangerous on the break and in 67th minute Wilks had to be alert to dash of his line and dive in at the feet of Loza to deny the striker his hat trick.
The 81st minute was packed with action at both ends of the park with Johnson again thwarting Ives efforts to grab an equaliser. He reacted brilliantly to tip over Glennon’s close range flick to Smith’s long throw from the left. Alex Collard rose highest to Smith’s resulting corner but the Ives skipper’s header was straight into the hands of the waiting keeper. Johnson’s quick throw out then puts Botelho Fatadjo away only for the speedy wide man to be denied by a brave close range block from Wilks.
With the clock ticking down manager Ricky Marheineke threw on all of the remaining attacking options from his bench with Coree Wilson replacing Abimbola and Silvano Obeng coming on for Creary. But even with four strikers now on the pitch Ives struggled to create any clear cut chances. The only one which came their way in the remaining time was in 86th minute when Smith’s cross from the left deflected off a defender and fell at the feet of Collard at the back post. But the skipper got the ball stuck in his feet and the shot when it eventually came lacked sufficient power to beat Johnson.
With everyone being thrown forward in the vain search for an equaliser it was probably inevitable that the visitors would manage to kill the game off in added time. The Blues went close to that clincher in forth added minute when it took a full length diving save from Wilks to keep out Loza’s effort from the edge of the box and substitute Albie Armin fired his follow up effort wide. Two minutes later that final nail was driven into Ives coffin as Armin broke away down the left and cut inside before firing high past Wilks to ensure that the three points were on their way back to the Suffolk coast.
Final Score: St Ives Town 1 Leiston 3 Half Time 1 – 1
Goals:
ST IVES: Smith 4,
LEISTON: Loza 39, 60, Armin 90+6
Team Line Ups:
ST IVES: Wilks, Mensah (Adegbola 70), Smith, Abimbola (Wilson 70), Williams, Collard (capt), Gyamfi (Creary 21, Obeng 89), Glennon, Hadi, Allen, Skyers, Unused subs: none
LEISTON: Johnson, Hill (capt) (Clements 80), Saunders, Ross Jarvis, Curtis (Manley 70), Jackson (Yun 70), Botelho-Fatadjo (Armin 87), Alexander, Fowkes, Quantrell, Loza, Unused subs: Ryan Jarvis
Referee: Thomas Whay
Cards: Yellow: ST IVES: Collard (37) LEISTON: Loza (31)
IVES SUPPORTERS MAN OF THE MATCH: Will Glennon
Attendance: 324