St Ives Town U18 v Peterborough Sports U18  

Thurlow Nunn Youth League – Western Division  11-03-19

For the second time in two weeks Ives met one of the title contenders at Westwood Road, but unlike last week’s tilt at King’s Lynn the visit of Sports saw a depleted hosts missing seven likely starters from their squad. Their opponents very much trying to play catch up with their League fixtures after very impressive runs in the FA Youth Cup and Northants County Cup came into this game on the back of three impressive wins with the combined scoring record of 19-0. It was not going to be easy!.

Contrary to all the statistics and the expectations it was Ives who started best and they let two golden opportunities pass them by in the first fifteen minutes. In twelfth minute a long Shay Griffiths free kick was misjudged by Henry Nkobi as he allowed the ball to skim off the top of his head. Adam Laker had done what all good strikers do he had gambled and he got on the end of it. Keeper Dylan Veni reacted well and closed him down quickly forcing the Ives wide man to take his shot on first time. Veni came off best as the close-range shot cannoned off his legs to safety.

Thomas Wakley was replacing the injured Harry Sargent down the centre and it was his sheer persistence that won him the next opportunity only two minutes later. He harried Nkobi as the big centre back tried to deal with a bobbling ball just outside the box, nicked the ball off him and prodded it past the advancing Veni only to see the shot bobble inches the wrong side of the post as all looked on.

Ives continued to press and stunned their visitors by taking the lead midway through the first half. The goal came in somewhat controversial circumstances as Sports were convinced they had been awarded a free kick in the centre of the park as Wakley appeared to foul Matt Jones-Molineux but referee Cliff Mills deemed that Jones-Molineux had been the offender. George Cawte delivered the resulting free kick into the box where the still disgruntled Sports defenders were slow to react allowing Jordan Locke to bring the ball down and flick it over the advancing Veni from a narrow angle. Laker bravely went in with much taller defenders at the back post and it was he who got the decisive touch to force the ball home.

Going one behind seemed to spark the visitors into a reaction and in 24^th minute Ayman Trabelsi and Alfie Ferguson combined well down the right the move ending with the latter getting to the bye line before driving a powerful cross into the six yard box where the ball deflected towards goal off Mitchell Pillin. The Ives centre back was saved by the sharp reactions of his keeper as Griffiths pulled off an excellent save.

Griffiths was called into more spectacular action three minutes later when a Eunis Lievins free kick fell to Ryan Pratt on the edge of the box. The big striker took the effort on first time on the volley but Griffiths was equal to it leaping high to his right to tip the shot around the post.

Sports were now well on top and Ives best hope was to try and hold out until the break. All that changed with two goals in three minutes. The equaliser came in 37^th minute as Ferguson tried to get dribble his way through a group of Ives defenders on the right hand side of the box. He almost made it only to be taken down by the outstretched leg of Mihayl Mitkov to give Mr Mills one of the easier penalty decisions he has made in his career. Ferguson picked himself up and emphatically despatched the spot kick high to Griffiths left as the keeper went the other way.

What proved to be the winner arrived only three minutes later in equally emphatic style but there will be a few Ives defenders looking at each other for not doing more to stop it. Lievins picked up the ball just inside his own half on the left hand side and cut infield without being challenged, or even really closed down. The marauding left back then decided to try his luck from fully thirty yards and caught it sweet as a nut the ball whistling past Griffiths and billowing the net although the keeper may also be a little disappointed as he appeared a little slow to react.

Now in control of the game Sports came out for the second half determined to not let it slip again. The tiring Ives with few options on the bench continued to work hard but only managed to carve out one opportunity for an equaliser and that came on the hour. Conor O’Donovan battled to win the ball off Lievins just outside Sports box. Billy Garlick latched onto the loose ball and slammed in a rising drive from the right hand corner of the box that beat the struggling Veni but curled inches over the angle of crossbar and post.

From that point on it was all Sports but to their credit Ives did not wilt but continued to battle all the way and although the visitors did create chances at regular intervals Griffiths and those in front of him denied the otherwise prolific scorers any further reward. In 61^st minute Sports substitute Oliver Foster cut in from the right and fed the ball inside to Ethan Atkins who thudded a 25 yarder into the boards just to the left of Griffiths goal.

Three minutes later a cracking effort from full back Brad Hughes from wide right beat the scrambling Griffiths but cannoned back into play off the inside of the post. The Ives keeper showed fantastic reactions and agility to regain his composure and tip over the follow up header from inside the six yard box by Ferguson.

Big centre forward Pratt and his strike partner Ferguson were proving a handful and the pair combined to carve out another chance in 72^nd minute. Ferguson robbed Mitkov just outside the box and slid a ball through into the well timed run of Pratt but the big striker did have a weakness as when a left foot finish was clearly on to slide the ball past the exposed Griffiths he instead tried to go with his right and got it horribly wrong instead firing the ball away from goal.

Griffiths best save of a busy night came fifteen minutes from the end when Nkobi rose unchallenged at the back post to meet a Ferguson corner from the left. The big centre back planted a powerful downward header just inside the post but Griffiths was equal to it plunging to his left to parry the effort with his team mates completing the clearance by hacking away the loose ball.

The final opportunity of the evening also went the way of the visitors and was perhaps a strange one when they should have probably been playing out time with five minutes to go. Lievins took a quick free kick to put centre half Nkobi away down the left wing. His cross to the centre was met eight yards out by the unmarked Trabelsi but the Sports winger failed to keep his header down.

At the final whistle Ives can be proud of their efforts and perhaps a little unfortunate not to get anything from the game if they look back at those two early opportunities. Those with longer memories can also reflect that Ives are still the only side to take points off Sports this season following their 1-1 draw in their visit to Lincoln Road in September. On the other hand the Sports management team could be heard throughout the Clubhouse dishing out a real dressing down to their players who they clearly felt had only just done enough. I would not want to be in that dressing room when they do lose one!.   

Final Score  :  St Ives Town U18  1  Peterborough Sports U18  2  

Goals : Laker 21

St Ives team : Griffiths, Frans, Mitkov, Purse, Locke (capt) (Ramsaran 70), Pillin, Laker (Darnell 77), Cawte, Wakley, Garlick, O’Donovan (Katz 84)

Unused Subs : Sargent

Attendance  : 40

Report by Nigel Howlett

St Ives Town U18 v King’s Lynn Town U18  

Thurlow Nunn Youth League – Western Division  04-03-19

Two late goals including a penalty at the death ensured that the Linnets stayed on track for the League title but the result was harsh on the Ives who had battled gallantly throughout and were very unfortunate to be denied at least a point from a game which for long periods they looked like winning.

The hosts showed their intent almost straight from the kick off as Harry Sargent chased a ball over the top forcing Linnets keeper Aydin Duran into a hurried clearance that went straight to Zac Hope. But the Ives wide man wanted a touch and was robbed by Aironas Kuzas before he could try to flight the ball over the stranded custodian.

Sargent’s battling qualities were causing the visitor’s centre back pairing a few problems and in eleventh minute he managed to battle between Harry Paul and Freddie Collison to get a toe to Thomas Wakley’s lob over the top. The ball floated over the stranded Duran but also inches over the crossbar.

The Linnet’s managed to get the ball in the net in their first meaningful attack of the game in 15^th minute. A good inter passing move through the centre saw Mitchell Rasberry feed the ball out to overlapping full back Kyle Wells on the right. Wells driven cross was turned home at the back post by Jake Smith sliding in but his celebration was cut short as the linesman on the near side had his flag raised as Smith had got just in front of his man before the cross came in.

By the midway point in the first half the game had turned into an entertaining affair with both sides looking for every opportunity to get on the front foot and both defences battling hard to deny their opposition any space. The visitors went close again in 21^st minute as the tricky Joe Taylor seized an opportunity to burst into Ives box but just as it looked like he was going to test Shay Griffiths in the home goal Mitchell Pillin came sliding across to block the shot at point blank range.

Ives hard work brought them reward ten minutes before the break as a Billy Garlick free kick from the left was fed into the feet of Harry Sargent just inside the box. In spite of the close attention of three Linnets defenders Sargent managed to find room to turn and try to burrow his way through only to be unceremoniously taken down by Paul. The assistant on the far side had the best view of the incident at he instantly waved his flag to signal a foul. Sargent picked himself up to despatch the resulting spot kick low past the left hand of Duran to put the hosts in front.

It took an excellent save from Griffiths to preserve Ives lead just seconds before the half time whistle. Smith managed to get on the end of a ball lofted up to the edge of the box. He directed his downward header into the path of Ben Welch who took a touch to take him into the box before unleashing a powerful low drive that the well positioned Griffiths blocked with his legs. Ewan Young was on hand to scramble the loose ball away.

With Ives still battling hard and things not going his way the Linnets manager made a desperate looking quadruple substitution in 58^th minute in a brave attempt to garner his side a way back into the game. The changes almost had an instant impact as one of the newcomers Joseph Taylor combined well with Smith to play the big number nine into a good position inside the box on the left. He battled past Pillin before trying to curl the ball right footed around Griffiths but the Ives keeper was equal to the effort leaping to his left to turn the ball away.

Ives best chance to give themselves some breathing space by doubling their advantage came in 72^nd minute as the ever willing Sargent chased down a Wakley clip over the top. He beat keeper Duran to the ball and rolled it past him only to be denied as Paul got around behind his keeper to hack the goal bound effort away from inside the six yard box.

But with the clock ticking down it was becoming evident that Ives were struggling to maintain the fantastic work rate that they had kept up to that point. With fifteen minutes to go Taylor looked like he had found a way through the Ives back line as he took on Pillin inside the box going down under the challenge but the excellent referee David Osbourn was on the spot to wave away Linnets claims for a penalty. 

But that attack was the start of a period of pressure that lead to the visitors grabbing a somewhat fortunate equaliser three minutes later. As the ball bounced around the Ives box it fell to Taylor who again tried bursting through only to be denied by a solid tackle from Young. Unfortunately the loose ball fell to Smith on the edge of the box and although he did not hit his shot cleanly the ball bobbled past the unsighted Grifiths and nestled in the corner of the net.

Now level the Linnets saw the potential of claiming an unlikely victory to keep their championship hopes alive. Their best hope seemed to be feeding the lively Welch who having been one of those substituted in 58^th minute found himself reintroduced to replace the limping Liam Mitchell on the left in 72^nd minute. Welch was now up against a tiring Ives skipper Jordan Locke and seizing every opportunity to try and get past him on the outside. Twice in quick succession Locke brought down the speedy winger in dangerous positions just outside the box. But both free kicks were wasted as Luke Johnson delivered them too deep over the heads of his colleagues arriving at the back post.

The decisive moment though came with less than two minutes of the ninety left as Welch managed to get the wrong side of Locke for the third time but on this occasion fatally inside the box. Locke clumsily went into the back of the winger again taking him down for a cast iron penalty. Welch eventually limped off after treatment which meant a long wait before Taylor could take the resulting spot kick but the youngster kept his cool and comprehensively beat Griffiths high to his left although the kicker was perhaps a little relieved as the shot rattled the underside of the crossbar before bouncing up into the roof of the net.

The visitors were very effective in playing out the remaining few minutes of added time to leave a disconsolate Ives to trudge off at the end hopefully roused a little by the applause from their supporters who were rightfully proud of the effort the lads had put in and gutted as they were to get no reward from the game. But the lads must not be downcast and should take a lot from this game as they matched the potential champions throughout and were very unlucky to get no reward in the shape of points on the board. 

Final Score  :  St Ives Town U18  1  King’s Lynn Town U18  2  

Goals : Sargent 35 (pen)

St Ives team : Griffiths, Locke (capt), Quinsee, Purse, Young, Pillin Hope (Bald 71), Cawte, Sargent, Garlick (Gibbs 61), Wakley 

Unused Subs : Frans, O’Donovan, Laker

Attendance  : 83

Report by Nigel Howlett. Photos by Louise Thompson.

St Ives Town U18 v Holbeach United U18  

Thurlow Nunn Youth League – Western Division  25-02-19

The young Ives return to action after a three month winter lay off at least partially due to the weather proved to be a successful one as they gained revenge on the Tigers for the mauling they received in the fens in their previous game at the end of November.

Make no mistake this was an excellent hard fought victory against the team sitting third in the table. The performance and result shows just how much these boys had learnt from their previous defeat as on this occasion they managed to match the physicality of their opponents and although they rode their luck at times two well taken goals by Harry Sargent ensured they got their just reward for the considerable effort show by the entire squad.

With the visitors having played two games in the previous two weeks it was expected that they would start the more confidently but manager Lloyd Groves had got the Ives well drilled during their enforced break and right from the off the youngsters were letting their opponents know that they were not going to be a push over. 

Neither side created a clear cut opportunity in the first quarter of an hour and the first real action for either keeper went the way of Brad Waters in the Tigers goal in 15^th minute when George Cawte returned a half cleared corner back to Billy Garlick wide on the right. His driven low cross was spilled by Waters but the linesman’s upraised flag saved the keeper any embarrassment as Thomas Wakley following in had strayed offside.

Less than two minutes later Shay Griffiths in the home goal was called into his first meaningful action of the evening as he sprinted from his line to hack clear just ahead of Kyle Compton after the big number nine looked like he had been put clear by a clever clip over the top by Alex Richardson.

Compton was constantly looking to get on the shoulder of the last Ives defender and he managed to get away on the right in 20^th minute. His low driven cross into the danger zone beat the diving Griffiths but Leon Quinsee covering across from right back did just enough to prevent Josh Balding forcing the ball home at the back post. 

The very mobile Harry Sargent was causing the Tigers defence a few problems with his constant harrying and hassling and direct running style when he got the chance. It took the combined efforts of two defenders to stop him illegally in 23^rd minute. Billy Garlick and Billy Mobbs both showed a keen interest in the resulting free kick from 25 yards. Garlick won the day and although his well struck effort beat the three man wall it went about a metre wide of Waters left hand post and thudded the boards.

Garlick showed a much more accurate touch with a well executed lob over the Tigers defence to set up Sargent for the opening goal three minutes later. The Ives striker had timed his run to perfection to get onto the ball and keeper Waters rash early departure from his line decided Sargent’s mind on how to finish a perfect lob over the advancing keeper saw the ball land inside the six yard box and bounce up into the roof of the net.

The Tigers only had one chance to get level before half time but it was a good one only two minutes before the break. A long free kick from the right was somehow allowed to travel all the way through to Mikey Bailey inexplicably on his own ten yards out. He had time to take a touch and pivot on the ball before flashing his shot across the face of goal and past the far post. 

The only other noteworthy incident before the break was a clash between Ives Louis Bald and Tigers Kieron McConnell which saw both players pick up a yellow card after a spate of handbags right in front of the officials. Both managers made the clever move of substituting the pair at the interval to ensure that they kept eleven players on the pitch. Bald being replaced by Karl Frans and McConnell by Billy Barnes.

Barnes was instantly in the action from the restart taking on the Ives back line before playing in Balding on the left. Balding slid a dangerous ball across the six yard box that covering skipper Mitchell Pillin did well to clear from under his own crossbar.

Only three minutes later Barnes was at it again this time slipping a half cleared corner through to Brandon Andrews on the left his low cross led to a scramble in the Ives goalmouth with the ball eventually rolling back out to Andrews who went for power rather than finesse but powered his effort well wide of the far post from a very good position.

Barnes decided to go for goal himself in 54^th minute as he gained possession 25 yards out on the right and burst through into the penalty area before unleashing a powerful low drive that Griffiths did well to save but the ball ran loose and it took an excellent covering block by debutant centre back Ewan Young to prevent Balding forcing it over the line.

Having been under the cosh for the first twelve minutes of the second half Ives then stunned their visitors by doubling their lead in their first meaningful attack of the period and it was all thanks to the never say die attitude of Sargent. He harried the defence into a mistake before taking on Williamson through the middle. Under pressure from the centre back he seemed to lose the ball but it rebounded back into his path off another defender and he grabbed his chance slamming in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box.

Two in front but far from comfortable the Ives were soon back under pressure. Tigers skipper Liam Scales tried to battle his way through the centre in 59^th minute. He got past George Cawte and substitute Connor Gibbs before firing in a rising shot from just inside the box that Griffiths saved well to his left. Scales was again the catalyst five minutes later as played an excellent flick over the Ives back line to put Richardson clear. He looked like he had done everything right as he drew Griffiths to him then clipped the ball past the keeper but also past the post.

Ives were not so fortunate in 66^th minute as Richardson picked out Barnes in space inside the box and the big striker showed his ability as he instantly took down the ball before turning and firing low past the exposed Griffiths to make it game on or so we thought.

But Ives are a resilient well organised side and even though Connor O’Donovan and Adam Laker joined Young to put three debutants on the pitch and take the total number of Under 16’s in the hosts side up to five for the last fifteen minutes they still managed to limit the visitors to only two noteworthy efforts at goal in the remaining time. In 80^th minute Barnes dragged a 25 yard free kick wide and in the very last minute Will Barnes managed to get to the bye line on the right and pulled the ball back. Billy Barnes completely missed his kick as he tried to finish it and Balding following up blasted his effort well over the top from just inside the box.

Sargent also missed an inviting opportunity for him to claim what would have been a well deserved hat trick. In 89^th minute Zac Hope got away down the right outpacing his marker, his low cross struck a defender’s heel and fell perfectly for Sargent twelve yards out but the big striker snatched at the chance and fired well over the top.

Overall an excellent victory and with so many youngsters in the side it bodes very well for next season, or even the latter stages of this one!.    

Final Score  :  St Ives Town U18  2  Holbeach United U18  1  

Goals : Sargent 26 & 57

St Ives team : Griffiths, Quinsee, Bald (Frans 45), Purse (O’Donovan 62), Pillin (capt), Young, Mobbs (Laker 75), Cawte, Sargent, Garlick (Gibbs 53), Wakley (Hope 53)

Unused Subs : none

Attendance  : 51

Report by Nigel Howlett