Season: 2020-21

Codicote Wolves U14 v St Ives Town U14

Grantham Town v St Ives Town

Buildbase FA Trophy 1^st Round 10-12-20

Ives love leaving it late, in the last round they drew level with a last minute penalty before holding their nerve to win the shoot-out. This time they went one better grabbing two goals in added time to turn the game on its head and claim an unlikely victory to continue their journey into the unknown as they march on into the second round proper of this competition for the first time in the clubs history.

It was a strange night all round and probably the first ever competitive game that either side have played behind closed doors with only a handful of safety stewards and directors allowed in to witness proceeding due to Covid-19 restrictions. The weather did not treat the handful to kindly either with a bitterly cold gale force wind carrying drizzly rain on its wings to ensure that we were all shivering even before the off.

Manager Ricky Marheineke threw us all a curve ball going for a very attacking 4-3-3 formation with Michael Harding making his first start up front alongside Marc Richards and Michael Gyasi. Neither side had played for over a month due to the lockdown and with the wind blowing and a bobbly pitch this game was not likely to provide a spectacle of flowing football. Ives won the toss and made what looked like a wise decision to go with the wind first. However they looked the more rusty of the two outfits and could easily have fallen behind in the Gingerbreads first meaningful attack in seventh minute as James Berrett slid a ball through to put Liam Hardy clear but Martin Conway in the visitors goal was alert to the danger and was swiftly off his line to close the angle and deflect Hardy’s shot wide off his body. The resulting corner was only half cleared and Michael Hollingsworth rose above the crowd in the goalmouth to steer the return ball inches wide of the post.

In these early stages Ives were looking very disjointed overhitting attempted through balls to the front trio with the wind and leaving a lot of space for the hosts to break into in front of their struggling back four. Hardy was proving a real threat and it was no surprise when he put the Gingerbreads in front in tenth minute. He chased a long ball down the park that held up against the wind cut inside Ben Toseland and Brett Solkhon before firing a low left footer into the bottom corner from just outside the box.

Home keeper Jan Budtz had enjoyed a relatively quiet period in the early stages but he showed that he was on his toes as he denied Harding in 18^th minute. He initially came off his line to punch away an in-swinging cross from the left by Dylan Williams. But the ball fell to Nathan Hicks who cleverly clipped it back into the mix. Harding rose highest and tried to steer a looping header over the keeper who quickly back peddled before leaping to tip the ball over at full stretch. Two minutes later it looked like Ives had managed to get the first long ball right as Richards looked to have got completely clear onto a Conway punt that hung on the breeze but he was hauled back by a late assistant’s flag.

Another quick break saw the hosts double their lead on the half hour. This time Conway started to come for a ball through the centre that looked like it might carry through to him but the wind had played a cruel trick on the Ives custodian who found himself stranded in no mans land as Jack Stobbs sprinted onto it and lashed it home past the out of position keeper from 25 yards.

Ives urgently needed a response and they got it four minutes later. A ball clipped into the box by Luke Howell was flicked on by Richards and Harding latched onto it by the penalty spot but as he went to shoot his legs were taken from under him by home skipper Tom Ward. Referee Martyn Fryer immediately pointed to the spot and Richards did the rest sending Budtz the wrong way to halve the arrears.

Rather than Ives pushing on it was the hosts who again showed clinical finishing on the break to restore their two goal advantage two minutes later. Nathan Dyer fed a ball into the feet of Hardy just outside the box and the striker once more showed his prowess as he worked himself just enough space to slam in a low shot that beat the diving Conway on its way into that bottom left hand corner again.

To their credit the visitors once again fought back and in 38^th minute it took a spectacular diving save from Budtz to keep out a curling effort from the left by the busy Williams. But the home keeper was beaten in the last few seconds of the half as Ives showed they to could also be dangerous on the break Gyasi picked up the ball wide left and had only one intention in his mind as he cut inside past two defenders before rattling an unstoppable drive past the rooted Budtz to reduce the deficit to one at the interval.

It was going to be hard for Ives to build up a real head of steam against the elements and they struggled to create anything in the early stages of the second half. In fact the Gingerbreads came within inches of restoring their two goal cushion two minutes after the restart as a corner fell to Ward on the edge of the six yard box and he somehow managed to miss everyone inside the box with his shot that flashed past the far post.

As Ives struggled to create any real opportunities the hosts continued to go close to putting the game to bed. It took a spectacular intervention from Solkhon to prevent Ashley Worsfold doing just that on the hour as the Ives centre back had to hurl himself at a teasing cross from Hollingsworth and direct it over his own crossbar to stop the hosts number nine from heading it home.

The hosts had two more good opportunities to make the closing stages a lot easier for themselves in quick succession. In 73^rd minute a bizarre attempted clearance from Williams got caught on the breeze and arced back into his own penalty area where it fell to hosts substitute Adam Watson who should probably have done better but old succeeded in mishitting his shot straight into the grateful arms of Conway. Liam Bateman was Ives hero two minutes later as he got around behind his keeper to clear a Hollingsworth cross from the right off the goal line after Worsfold had challenged Conway for the ball and both had missed it.

You had a feeling that having failed to kill the game off the hosts may live to regret it. Manager Marheineke was playing all of his cards to try and grab something from the game. Ed Hottor replaced a tiring Richards, winger Ben Seymour-Shove came on for full back Toseland and recent signing Tommy Boxer made his Ives debut replacing Hicks. Boxer went into the middle of a back three with Solkhon thrown forward and Hottor joining him to make a four man attack.

Ives did manage to build up a bit of pressure as the hosts made the fatal mistake of sitting back but it looked like to little to late as the game ticked on into an added four minutes. But you cannot ever write this side off and in the first minute of that added time Gyasi tempted a Gingerbreads defender into a rash lunge on the edge of the box. Referee Fryer deemed the foul inside and this time it was Williams who did the job from the spot. We all thought that was it another penalty shoot out. But the wounded hosts went for broke straight from the kick off and paid the price as their attempt to channel the ball to a group of players down the left was broken up by Bateman who fed it down the line where Seymour-Shove slid it into the feet of Harding just inside the box he found space to turn and fire it along the six yard line. It evaded friend and foe alike before arriving at the feet of Hottor ghosting in at the back post and he did the rest giving Budtz no chance as he fired into the roof of the net to spark wild celebrations amongst Ives players and their very small contingent of supporters. Most of the added four minutes had been spent with Ives players celebrating and the ball not in play so referee Fryer was quite right to add another nerve racking three minutes but the whistle did eventually go to allow Ives FA Trophy adventure continue with another behind closed doors trip to National League North Leamington in Round 2 in five days time.

Final Score : Grantham Town 3 St Ives Town 4

Goals : Richards 34 (pen), Gyasi 45, Williams 90+2 (pen), Hottor 90+4

Team : Conway, Bateman, Toseland (Seymour-Shove 80), Gyasi, Jackson, Solkhon, Harding, Howell, Richards (Hottor 78), Williams, Hicks (Boxer 85)

Unused subs : J. Patrick, Mitkov

Supporters man of the match : Michael Harding

Attendance : 0

Report by Nigel Howlett

St Ives Town Ladies v AFC Dunstable Women

St Ives Town Ladies Development v Cambridge City Ladies III

Leverstock Green U14 v St Ives Town U14

St Ives Town U14 v Harlow Town Youth U14 Hawks

Riverside Ladies v St Ives Town Ladies Development

Wymondham Town Women v St Ives Town Ladies

Newmarket Town U16 White v St Ives Town U16

St Ives Town v Stafford Rangers

Buildbase FA Trophy 3^rd Qualifying Round 31-10-20

Once again Ives left it very late before picking up their reward from this game. This time it took an 89^th minute penalty from Dylan Williams to force the game to a shoot out where the hosts really came to the fore scoring four emphatic penalties to the visitors solitary successful effort.

With injuries still keeping Marc Richards and Nabil Shariff out of the squad Ives went into the game without a recognised centre forward starting the game with the same eleven that had finished so powerfully on Tuesday evening. With skipper Robbie Parker also absent with injury experienced centre back Brett Solkhon stepped up to take the armband. Boro interim manager Matty Hill made four changes to the visitors starting line up for his first game in charge.

Things started well for the Northern Premier League’s bottom side who were looking to impress their new boss. Joe Cuff went close with an early effort that flashed across the face of Martin Conway’s goal in the game’s very first attack after only fifty seconds. The same player did even better as he put the visitors in front in thirteenth minute. A quick break away down the right saw to many Ives players caught at the wrong end of the pitch allowing Callum Coyle to cleverly put Cuff clear through the centre and the Boro’s leading scorer calmly slotted home past the exposed Martin Conway.

Ives reacted well to falling behind and five minutes later the dangerous Michael Gyasi cut inside from the left past Michael Williams and Aaron Cole before pulling his shot from twenty yards well wide of Lewis King’s right hand upright. But King was called into his first real action of the afternoon two minutes later as he plunged to his left to tip around a Williams effort from 15 yards after quick thinking by Gyasi created the opportunity for Ives stand in centre forward. Fouled just outside the box by the struggling Michael Williams Gyasi got to his feet quickly and instantly slid the free kick inside to Williams.

The first half high on effort but lacking a decisive final ball saw only one more real save required by either keeper and it was Conway that needed to be on his toes in 34^th minute. Ed Hottor brought down Coyle just outside the box Alex-Ray Harvey’s free kick cannoned into the Ives wall but the rebound fell to John Welsh 25 yards out. He curled his first time effort over the crowd and it was angling into the corner of the net before Conway got across his goal to claim the ball.

We probably expected Ives to come out of the traps fast at the start of the second half but they started slowly and Cole came within millimetres of doubling the Boro lead in 49^th minute as he got on the end of Cieron Keane’s corner from the right at the back post but he only succeeded in directing his header into the side netting.

Ives began to perk up and should have drawn level in 61^st minute as Solkhon got on the end of a long Conway free kick and directed his header perfectly down into the run of Seymour-Shove to put the striker clear through the centre. Keeper King came to meet him and did very well staying big to deflect Seymour-Shove’s close range effort wide off his body. The resulting corner came to nothing but less than sixty seconds later Seymour-Shove thought he had made amends as he got onto the end of a Nathan Hicks through ball and curled his shot from the edge of the box past the exposed King only to have his effort ruled out by the assistant’s raised flag to add to his frustration.

Going so close twice in quick succession seemed to lift the Ives and just like in their previous game on Tuesday evening they began to build up the pressure on their visitors. In 65^th minute Hottor went close in spectacular fashion as Solkhon flicked on a Liam Bateman long throw and rather than try and bring it down Hottor went for the overhead kick. He connected well and got the effort on target but it went straight into the grateful arms of the well positioned King.

The visitors were by now only raiding sporadically into Ives half but a quick break down the left by Keane in 70^th minute ended with the overlapping full back sending a rasping drive across the face of goal that deflected wide off the outstretched boot of Oran Jackson. The resulting corner was dealt with effectively by Ives who broke at pace the move ending with Seymour-Shove feeding in Gyasi who got to the bye line on the left before cutting inside along the line. But rather than laying the ball back to the waiting Hicks he went for goal from a narrow angle and the shot got trapped between the legs of keeper King.

Midfielder Hottor was sacrificed for debutant striker Michael Harding in 74^th minute and he had an almost instant impact spinning on the edge of the box to fire in a low right footer that King did excellently to keep out low to his right. Coulson then came to the prostrate keeper’s rescue as he scrambled the loose ball away just ahead of Gyasi arriving to slam it home.

The Ives pressure continued to mount but they were still struggling to find a route through the Boro back line and past keeper King until with less than a minute of the original ninety to play Coulson made the fatal mistake as he needlessly dived in on Seymour-Shove just inches inside the box as the nippy striker was heading away from goal. With both Richards and Parker missing responsibility from the spot fell to Williams but he kept his composure and beat King well sending the keeper the wrong way.

There was still one opportunity for Ives to claim the win inside regulation time when two minutes into added time Gyasi managed to tee up Bateman for a shot from just inside the box but the full back tried to go for placement rather than power allowing King to make a comfortable save.

So the game finished all square and with no extra time or replays this season in the competition it was straight to a shoot out, something that Ives have really struggled over in recent times but the new look hosts took it in their stride and even with first and second choice penalty takers missing Hicks, Solkhon and Williams all beat King comprehensively. In reply Cuff scored for the visitors but Mitchell Candlin saw his effort brilliantly saved low to his left by Conway and Coulson fired well over the top leaving substitute Ben Toseland with the opportunity to clinch the win, He did not disappoint beating King just as emphatically as his predecessors to take Ives through to the first round proper in this competition for the first time in their history.

Unsung hero Luke Howell took the man of the match accolade for his battling display breaking up opposition sorties and distributing the ball well from his position just in front of the back four.

The draw for the next round comes out Monday but with a second Covid enforced lockdown just about to start who knows when the tie may get played.

Final Score : St Ives Town 1 Stafford Rangers 1 (St Ives Town won 4-1 on penalties)

Goals : Williams 89 (pen)

Team : Conway, Bateman, Ballinger (Toseland 83), Gyasi, Jackson, Solkhon (capt), Seymour-Shove, Howell, Williams, Hottor (Harding 74), Hicks

Unused subs : Lincoln, Clifton, Mitkov

Supporters man of the match : Luke Howell

Attendance : 156

Report by Nigel Howlett. Video by Dave Hook. Photos by Louise Thompson.

Many thanks to our Match Sponsor

St Ives Town v Leiston

Pitching In Southern League Premier Division Central 27-10-20

A brilliantly taken late goal from Michael Gyasi ensured that Ives maintained their one hundred percent home record but the rock bottom Blues must have spent the entire journey back to the Suffolk coast wondering how on earth they got nothing from this game. The visitors hit the woodwork twice, were twice thwarted by the excellent Martin Conway in the home goal and also spurned at least two other good opportunities. They were without a doubt the better side in the first 45 minutes and only found themselves under any real pressure in the last fifteen minutes but successful sides managed to find ways to win games even when they are not at their best and that is exactly what Ives did in this one.

With Saturday’s trip to Peterborough Sports becoming their third game falling to the pandemic this season there was a little longer for the injured to recover. Marc Richards was deemed fit enough to start and Oran Jackson got through a pre-match fitness test leaving only skipper Robbie Parker missing out of those that had limped out of the previous game at Nuneaton.

Ives got the first effort on goal in only second minute when Brett Solkhon got across in front of his man to direct an effort on target from Dylan Williams early corner. But the shot lacked power and was straight at visiting keeper Sam Donkin who made a comfortable save.

The visitors first chance six minutes later was a much more inviting one and should really have seen them go in front as Finlay Barnes found space on the right to deliver a teasing cross into the centre that evaded Ives defenders and picked out Liam Jackson in the centre of goal eight yards out. The centre forward was stretching and failed to direct his effort on target instead sending the ball high over the crossbar and into the Burgess Hall car park.

The two sides showed high energy and endeavour but little inspiration and vision in the next twenty minutes as both seemed to want to go long ball rather than work their way through their opponents back lines. This seemed particularly the case with Ives who struggled badly to create anything much at all against opponents who were very quick to get everyone behind the ball as soon as they lost possession and had a very immobile man mountain in Adam Bailey-Dennis at the centre of their defence.

The next chance that came along again went the way of the visitors in 29^th minute and this time they really could not believe that they did not get their noses in front. Solkhon slipped on the wet turf allowing Dylan Switters to get clear onto a long ball out of defence. The Blues number eight drew Conway to him and clipped the ball past the exposed keeper but to the striker’s amazement the ball struck the base of the far upright and rebounded into play. Jackson was the first to react and scrambled it out of harms way before Jamie Eaton-Collins could poke it home.

The visitors were very much on top during this period of play and two minutes later they spurned another good opportunity to get in front. Jacob Ballinger and Oran Jackson both got pulled inside giving Eaton-Collins chance to feed the ball out to Will Davies in space 25 yards from goal. He took a touch but screwed his effort wide of Conway’s right hand post as Ives defenders struggled to close him down.

Bailey-Dennis had an opportunity to trundle up field into the opposition box in 34^th minute and perhaps not surprisingly with his height advantage he got on the end of Switters free kick at the back post. He got power in his header but the direction was poor and the ball flashed harmlessly across the face of goal.

Conway was called into more action three minutes before the break as he held on well to a Robert Eagle effort from 25 yards at the foot of his right hand post. The chance had been teed up by Switters who’s free kick had rebounded to him off Ives four man wall. His ball inside then giving Eagle chance to try and pick out the bottom corner.

With half time looming Ives suffered a blow losing stand in skipper Richards to a recurrence of his groin strain. He was replaced by Ben Seymour-Shove and the change in physical stature meant Ives needed to change the focus of their attack, but also meant a potentially more difficult challenge for the immobile Bailey-Dennis. Ives did have one half chance in added time at the end of the first period as Nathan Hicks was fouled by Matt Richardson giving Williams chance to curl in a free kick from 20 yards. He got it around the wall but straight into the grateful arms of the waiting Donkin.

As anticipated Ives started the second half by changing their tactics and trying to play through and around the Blues back line. The first half chance of the second period came the hosts way courtesy of this change as Ed Hottor got down the right before delivering a ball low to the near post where Hicks got in front of his may but failed to hit the target with his effort.

But two more golden opportunities went the way of the visitors in less than a minute around the hour mark. Initially a quick break gave Davies chance to feed in Barnes, Conway came to meet him and did brilliantly staying big and blocking the effort when it came at point blank range. The opportunity had arisen with Ives vainly appealed for a penalty at the opposite end of the pitch as Gyasi was clipped by Richardson as he wriggled past the centre back on his way into the box. Although Conway did well to keep out Barnes’s effort he was beaten comprehensively only sixty seconds later as Eaton-Collins picked up a loose ball 25 yards out and unleashed a howitzer that thumped the crossbar and rebounded to safety with the fortunate Ives keeper looking on.

A scramble in Ives goalmouth twenty minutes from time saw efforts from Switters and Barnes bravely blocked by Hottor and Jackson respectively as the hosts defenders put their body on the line to preserve the status quo. By that point the visitors must have been beginning to realise that it was not going to be their night and a little more belief seemed to flow into the veins of the hosts. Spurred on by their faithful support the hosts slowly but surely began to get on top and chances began to appear. It was the turn of the Blues defenders to have to put their bodies on the line.

There were 15 minutes to go when Eaton-Collins fouled Hottor wide on the right. Williams free kick was a little to deep but Hottor kept the ball alive and fed it inside into the run of Liam Bateman 20 yards out Switters flung himself bravely across the line of the full back’s first time effort to deflect the ball away. Next it was the turn of George Keys to take one for the team as he equally gallantly threw himself in to block Jackson’s well struck effort from ten yards after a Bateman long throw had dropped at his feet.

There was only just over one minute of the ninety remaining when a desperate Richardson hauled down Seymour-Shove just inches outside the right hand edge of the visitor’s box. A clever Williams free kick teed up Ballinger for a shot from the edge of the box but he was even more unceremoniously hauled down by substitute Marcus Wilkinson giving Williams and opportunity from inside the D. His free kick was not that well struck and the ball hit the Blues four man wall but in ricocheted to the one man that we would want it to fall to inside the box and the on form Gyasi did the rest swinging his right foot through the ball to lash it home through the crowd.

Final Score : St Ives Town 1 Leiston 0

Goals : Gyasi 90+1

Team : Conway, Bateman, Ballinger, Gyasi (Clifton 90+4), Jackson, Solkhon, Hottor, Howell, Richards (capt) (Seymour-Shove 45+2), Williams, Hicks

Unused subs : Toseland

Supporters man of the match : Michael Gyasi

Attendance : 156

Report by Nigel Howlett. Video by Dave Hook. Photos by Louise Thompson.

Many thanks to Match Sponsor – Ernie of St Ives

St Ives Town Ladies Development v Peterborough Northern Star Ladies Reserves

St Ives Town Ladies v Bowers & Pitsea Ladies

Cambridge City Youth U14 v St Ives Town U14

St Ives Town U16 v Histon U16

St Ives Town U15 v Arlesey Town U15

Nuneaton Borough v St Ives Town

Pitching In Southern League Premier Division Central 20-10-20

Rampant Ravi Shamsi put the struggling Ives to the sword as he helped himself to a nap hand grabbing five of the Boro’s six goals in a game where in the closing stages they looked like scoring every time he or his two fellow protagonists Greg Kazibondi and Ollie Bassett picked up the ball and ran at the visitor’s back line. But from the point of view of the embattled Ives this game looked like a Covid hangover coming just to quickly after Saturday’s excellent performance against Redditch. The after effects from Covid plus no training for two weeks due to the enforced lay off really showed and they lost the entire backbone of the side with what looked like muscle injuries during the game. Influential skipper Robbie Parker was first to succumb just before half time quickly followed after the break by centre back Oran Jackson and finally fifteen minutes from time leader of the line Marc Richards.

It had all started so brightly for Ives going close to getting in front in eleventh minute when a flowing move was finished by Nathan Hicks feeding the ball into the edge of the box from the right, a clever stepover by Marc Richards allowed Luke Howell to roll the ball back in towards Hicks who had continued his run and was only just beaten to the ball by the alert Tony Breeden in the Boro goal.

The very next attack only seconds later saw the visitors get in front Jacob Ballinger, perhaps a surprise choice in a wide position, cut in from the left before feeding the ball into the feet of Michael Gyasi on the edge of the box. He took a touch before hammering in a left foot effort that struck Jamie Hood as the big centre back bravely threw himself across the line of the ball. Referee Daniel Robinson was in the perfect position to see that the part of Hood that the ball hit was his arm away from his body. The fact that he was only a couple of yards from Gyasi is irrelevant with today’s interpretation of handball it was a penalty. As on Saturday Richards did the business from the spot sending Breeden the wrong way.

It could so easily have been two only two minutes later as Gyasi was put away down the left by Ballinger he outpaced the defence cutting in towards goal. But he went for goal from a narrow angle and only succeeded in hitting the side netting when Richards was waiting in the centre begging for the pull back.

Up to this point in the game Shamsi had been fairly quiet but he popped up on the right in 20^th minute to create the host’s first real chance of the evening as he got past Ben Toseland before clipping a low cross to the near post where Bassett arriving at pace saw his close range effort excellently blocked by a well-positioned Martin Conway. But Conway could do nothing to keep out the next effort that came courtesy of Shamsi only seconds later. The darting little striker picked up a ball deep in Ives half fed it out to Alex Tomkinson on the left and then continued his run into the box opening his body perfectly to side foot home Tomkinson’s low cross at the near post.

Ives responded well and went close again in 25^th minute. Richards was brought down by Hood 25 yards from goal both he and Toseland stood over the resulting free kick but it was the full back who curled his effort around the four man Boro wall only to be denied by Breeden plunging low to his right to push the ball away.

Kazibondi showed his threat for the first time just after the half hour as he picked up a loose ball in the centre circle before driving at the retreating Ives back line and unleashing a dipping effort from 25 yards that forced Conway into a diving save low to his left. By this point in the game both Parker and Jackson were beginning to struggle and Jackson was off receiving treatment when Ives went close again in 34^th minute. Toseland roaming forward on the left was brought down just outside the corner of the box by Devon Kelly-Evans. This time it was Richards who fired in the free kick over the three man wall and Breeden went for an unorthodox save punching the well struck shot away rather than catching it.

The hosts got their noses in front for the first time in 38^th minute as Tomkinson and Shamsi combined on the left side again. This time Tomkinson rolled the ball into the feet of the little maestro on the left corner of the box and he struck a first time fiercely dipping drive that flew past the diving Conway and just inside the far post.

Despite losing skipper Parker just after this Ives came back again and got back on level terms just before the break. Gyasi was again the provider as he once more got away from the defence down the left before delivering a low cross to the near post where Ballinger sliding in prodded the ball home.

Jackson had been struggling for the latter stages of the first half and was clearly patched up and sent out to try and get through as long as possible, sadly he only lasted about three minutes after the re-start leading to a major re-shuffle of the side with Liam Bateman slotting in alongside Brett Solkhon at centre back, Howell dropping back to right back and Dan Clifton coming into the centre of the park.

Despite all of their woes Ives came within millimetres of going back in front in 52^nd minute. Bateman played a ball down the right that seemed to catch out the Boro defence allowing Richards to get away. He delivered a low cross along the six yards line to the back post where Ballinger was lurking ready to poke home his second. In a desperate bid to prevent him doing just that Ethan Stewart threw himself at the ball and fired it against the inside of his own post. It took an amazing reaction from Breeden to keep it out as it rebounded along the goal line.

As so often happens a game can hinge on fine margins and sure enough the Boro went straight up the other end and went in front. Shamsi was again involved as he exchanged passes with Leroy Lita to get into Ives box where he was taken down by Howell. Shamsi claimed his hat trick from the spot beating Conway low to his right.

Shamsi was a continual thorn in Ives side and he almost teed up Bassett for the Boro’s fourth goal in 55^th minute as he combined with Tomkinson before sliding a pass inside into the run of Bassett who was only denied by the speed and bravery of Conway who slid in to take the ball off his toe.

Gyasi had what proved to be the tiring Ives final chance to draw level on the night just before the hour as he picked up a loose ball just outside the host’s box before unleashing a powerful left foot effort that screamed inches wide of the upright with Breeden looking on.

The after effects of the last few weeks really began to show in Ives as the game entered the final half an hour and the hosts really started to run the show with Shamsi the puppet master pulling all of the strings. In 67^th minute he almost got clear to claim his fourth only to take one touch to many allowing Clifton to slide in and block. But the loose ball was fed on into the run of Kazibondi who really should have scored screwing his effort wide from close range.

By this point it was all one way traffic and the inevitable fourth arrived in 71^st minute and unusually Shamsi was not involved as Bassett and Kelly-Evans combined to set up Kazibondi who did much better from 25 yards than he had from six a few minutes earlier. This time he found the back of the net with a powerful drive that beat Conway low to his left.

There was no mercy for the suffering Ives as Shamsi and his fellow protagonists rubbed salt into the already sore wounds with two more goals in the remaining time. In 82^nd minute Kazibondi fed a ball into the run of Bassett who in turn delivered a low cross into the centre where the unmarked Shamsi gleefully slammed home his fourth of the night and rampant Boro’s fifth.

The final nail in the coffin came in the first minute of added time as Kazibondi again ran through a gaping hole in beleaguered Ives back line before rolling the ball inside to substitute Andre Brown who in turn fed it on to Shamsi to complete his night in style from just inside the box.

The only saving grace for Ives is that their scheduled opponents for Saturday Peterborough Sports now also have a Covid outbreak in their camp so the game is off giving them time to regroup and the injured a bit more time to recover ahead of hosting Leiston on Tuesday evening.

Final Score : Nuneaton Borough 6 St Ives Town 2

Goals : Richards 13 pen, Ballinger 44

Team : Conway, Bateman, Toseland, Gyasi, Oran Jackson (Clifton 49), Solkhon, Ballinger, Parker (capt) (Williams 41), Richards (Seymour-Shove 75), Howell, Hicks

Unused subs : Jordan Patrick, Seth Patrick

Supporters man of the match : Mark Richards

Attendance : 305

Report by Nigel Howlett. Video by Dave Hook. Photos by Louise Thompson.