It’s the final home game of the season on Saturday as St Ives Town welcome Bedford to the Quattro-Tech Westwood Road.
The visitors arrive having been relegated over the Easter weekend but will still be looking to finish the season on a high. For the Ives, they mathematically still require a point to secure their status in the PitchingIN Southern League Premier Division Central for another season, so will be going all out to achieve that.
What a difference a couple of games can make. Going into the Easter weekend, the Ives looked in real danger of relegation but back to back wins over Tamworth and Royston mean they have taken a giant leap towards safety. Ives boss Ricky Marheineke certainly has plenty of strength in depth going into the last two games of the campaign. Nabil Shariff, who scored the third goal at Royston on Monday could be in line for a start whilst Kieron Higgs who missed out may be named in the squad. Jonny Edwards scored twice over the Easter weekend and looks set to start as he eyes scoring more goals from the final two league games.
INTRODUCING BEDFORD
This season has been one to forget for Bedford. The Eagles were back in step three after their promotion last year. However, they have only won eight times in the league this season and have conceded 86 goals which is the most of any club in the division. They arrive at the Quattro-Tech Westwood Road having not scored a goal in the league since 18 February which was a 2-1 defeat at Stourbridge. The last time they actually won in the league was on Boxing Day when they beat AFC Rushden & Diamonds 6-2 at their New Eyrie ground.
OTHER KEY GAMES IN THE RELEGATION BATTLE THIS WEEKEND
BROMSGROVE SPORTING v Barwell
Hednesford Town v KINGS LANGLEY
NEEDHAM MARKET v Basford
STRATFORD TOWN v Coalville
THE REVERSE FIXTURE
The two clubs met earlier this season on 12 November. The Ives got off to the worst possble start when Kane Lewis was credited with an own goal. However, Jonny Edwards and Kieran Higgs gave the Ives a 2-1 cushion at the break before Enoch Andoh netted the third three minutes from time to make the game safe.
PRE-MATCH DRINKS OFFER
Once again the club will be offering a drinks promotion in the clubhouse before the game. All beers and pints are priced at just £2.50 between 1:00pm and 2:15pm so make sure you arrive early to take advantage of this offer.
THANK YOU TO OUR FANS…..
As this is the last home game of the season, a big thank you to all our supporters who have attended matches this season. We hope you have enjoyed what you have seen and we look forward to seeing you for on the field action when pre-season begins in July. However, there is plenty of off the field fundraising taking place during the closed season so keep a look out for details of the various events coming up.
If you are not attending the final home game of the season, then a reminder that there will be updates on social media throughout the afternoon with a match report, highlights and post-match reaction available over the weekend on the club YouTube Channel.
ADMISSION PRICES
Adults – £11
Concessions (Over 65) £8
Military Discount (with ID Card) – £5
Students (With ID Card) – £5
U16’s to 12 – £2
U12’s – Free (Accompanied with an adult)