St Ives Town v Tamworth

Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central  08-04-2023

This massive win, Ives first in ten games, is a huge boost in their battle to avoid the drop. The result also puts a very big dent in the stuttering visitors quest for the title. Make no mistake this result has been coming and the game was deservedly won by a fantastic all-round performance carefully planned on the training field. The Lambs had bullied their way to top spot with a long ball game that supporters of Cambridge United from the 1980s would have remembered as the John Beck style. Taking every opportunity to deliver the ball into the box where Dan Creaney has successfully fed on the scraps to claim over 30 goals.

Ives manager Ricky Marheineke’s plan to combat that style was to field a side with three centre backs to ensure that the hosts got to every ball into their box first. The central defenders were well backed up by everyone else around the park who closed down the Lambs at every opportunity ensuring that those deliveries into the box were hurried rather than measured. The game plan was executed so effectively that the group of National League scouts watching Creaney had all probably departed long before the end as the Lambs centre forward barely got a touch all afternoon.. 

The visitors started the game on the front foot and there were only two minutes on the watch when Michael Richens tripped Gift Mussa just outside the box. Ben Hart curled his effort around Ives four man wall, but keeper James Dadge was equal to the effort flinging himself spectacularly to his left to palm the ball around the post. Dadge had to be on his toes again seven minutes later as he had to back peddle at pace and launch himself backwards to tip a clever Creaney flick onto the crossbar as the striker tried to turn home Hart’s low cross from the right.

Having survived those two early scares Ives began to work their way into the game with ex Lambs wingers Greg Kaziboni enjoying some success down the right. It was he who delivered the host’s first effort on target in 10^th minute. But his well struck 25 yarder was straight at visiting keeper Jas Singh who made a comfortable save.

The winger caused more problems for the visitors only seconds later when it took an excellent defensive header from Callum Cockerill-Mollett to prevent Jonny Edwards getting on the end of his dangerous cross at the back post. The resulting corner gave Johnny Herd chance to deliver a teasing in-swinger to the edge of the six yard box where Michael Richens who had somehow lost his marker powered home a header to put Ives ahead.

It should have been two midway through the half when Ed Hottor robbed a dallying Mussa inside the centre circle and threaded the perfect pass into the well timed run of Kaziboni. One touch to many made the angle a little tighter than it should have been and when the winger clipped the ball past the exposed Singh he also clipped it just wide of the far post.

By this time Ives were well on top and Kaziboni was beating Cockerill-Mollett at will down the right flank. His 25^th minute run saw him get to the bye line and hang up an inviting cross to the back post where Edwards directed his header on target from a narrow angle but with Singh beaten the ball deflected wide off Lambs skipper Alex Collard.

Kaziboni also tried his luck down the left where he had equal success and it was Charlie Johnson’s turn to see a goal bound effort blocked on the line in 33^rd minute. The Ives centre back had got on the end of the deep cross from the Ives wide man after a short corner routine had given him the chance to deliver the ball into the box. The man blocking the shot on the line was Creaney and he did just enough to scramble the ball clear.

Ives pressure in the first period probably deserved a second goal and that duly arrived two minutes before the break. Kaziboni was again heavily involved breaking at pace before being taken down by Collard on the left hand corner of the box. Herd’s initial delivery was half cleared to Kaziboni who’s delivery back into the box was knocked down by Richens and prodded home by Edwards as a static Lambs defence vainly appealed for offside.

Lambs manager Andy Peaks decided on a change of tactics at half time and replaced Mussa with the more attack minded Jamie Jellis and the substitute forced an excellent early save from Dadge three minutes after the re-start the keeper leaping high to his right to push the well struck effort away.

Ives did have one long ball threat of their own and that was Herd’s long throws. His 51^st minute delivery from the right was allowed to drop at the feet of Edwards on the six yard line but his attempt at a spectacular overhead kick flew over the top.

The visitors continued the quest to get back into the game but Ives resistance remained strong. A 58^th minute scramble in the host’s box saw shots from Eoin McKeown and Creaney blocked by Jordan Williams and Ashton Fox respectively before Dadge was able to smother the loose ball. McKeown was also denied by the keeper ninety seconds later as a well positioned Dadge held onto his 25 yard effort.

Ives defenders continued to put their bodies on the line for the cause and this was perfectly demonstrated in 64^th minute when fierce shots from McKeown and Creaney were bravely blocked at point blank range by the flying bodies of Herd and Johnson respectively. 

Whilst most of the second half had been spent with Ives defending gallantly to preserve their advantage they still had an out-ball to the ebullient Kaziboni who continued to make things difficult for his former colleagues. A 72^nd minute foray forward won a corner, Herd’s flag kick into the mix was palmed away by Singh and fell to Johnson 12 yards out but his acrobatic volley flew well over the top.

It looked like all of Ives hard work might be undone with ten minutes to go when substitute George Cater got put clean through the left channel. It looked like he only had Dadge to beat but Fox appeared out of nowhere to slide in with a perfectly timed tackle to take the ball of the toe of the Lambs striker just as he shaped to shoot.

That resilient rear-guard action was continuing as the clock ticked down and McKeown was denied three times in the same attack in 82^nd minute. His first two efforts were blocked by Ives defenders and although the third attempt found the target it was kept out as Richens headed it off the goal line.

There was still time for young Dadge to top off his best performance to date for Ives with seven minutes to go as he brilliantly denied Cater after the substitute had been put clean through by his fellow replacement Jellis. The Ives keeper was smartly off his line to deflect Cater’s effort onto the underside of the crossbar and then brilliantly recovered to pounce on the loose ball. That save killed any danger of a nervy last few minutes and ended Ives run of ten games without a win.

It was also a vital victory as all around them in the scramble to avoid the last relegation place picked up points. With three games left Ives now sit one place and five points above the dreaded red line. With the side presently in that final relegation spot Kings Langley scheduled to play the bottom two sides in their last two games there is still much more hard work required yet before safety can be assured.    

 

Final Score:  St Ives Town  2 Tamworth  0    

Goals: 

ST IVES: Richens 11, Edwards 43

TAMWORTH:  

Team Line Ups:

ST IVES: Dadge, Casey, Herd, Richens (capt), J. Williams, Fox, Kaziboni (Andoh 85), Hottor (Cowling 88), Edwards, Johnson, Baker (Harris 88), Unused subs: Toseland, Shariff, 

TAMWORTH: Singh, Hart, Cockerill-Mollett (Cater 62), Mussa (Jellis 46), Collard (capt), Dolman, McKeown, Meikle (Finn 78), Creaney, Deacon, Fairlamb, Unused subs: Fallows, Willets,  

Cards: Yellow:  ST IVES: Baker (81)       COALVILLE: Collard (42), Cockerill-Mollett (55), Hart (71), Deacon (90)

IVES SUPPORTERS MAN OF THE MATCH:  Greg Kaziboni

Attendance: 363

Report by Nigel Howlett. Interview by Andrew Dunn. Video clips by Ollie Jones. Photos by Louise Thompson.

St Ives Town v Coalville Town

Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central  01-04-2023

This very hard-earned victory on the road took the Ravens to the top of the table but they were pushed all the way by the battling Ives who could, and probably should, have got something from this game.

With Eddie Brearey still injured there was a return between the sticks for James Dadge and Ives also welcomed a fit again leading scorer Jonny Edwards back to lead their attack as they continued their quest to end their run of nine games without a win. Their visitors equally determined to continue their five match unbeaten run and claim top spot off Tamworth.

The hosts should have got their noses in front less than forty seconds after the kick off as Greg Kaziboni got fed clean through on goal. A slightly heavy first touch did for him though as it gave ex Ives keeper Paul White chance to get that little bit closer as he spread himself forcing Kaziboni to lift the ball a little higher over him and that proved just to high as the ball rattled the crossbar and bounced away.

Ives continued to look the better side in the early exchanges and White was forced to make a diving save low to his left to keep out Kaziboni’s snap shot from the edge of the box four minutes later. The speedy Ives winger was causing the Ravens defence a few problems and he was fed in down the left by Johnny Herd in 15^th minute. He hung up his cross to the back post where Herve Pepe-Ngoma did well to prevent Edwards getting on the end of it.

Coalville are very much the ball playing side of the leading bunch and once they had settled onto the excellent 3G surface at quattro tech Westwood Road they began to patiently build themselves into the game. Dadge was called into his first real action in 18^th minute as an excellent Ravens passing move ended with Ashley Chambers feeding in Tom McGlinchey cutting in from the left. The Ives keeper had to leap high to his left to push away his fierce rising drive.

Just to prove that they knew how to play route one as well the Ravens next opportunity two minutes later came as Chambers looked to get away onto a long punt from White. But a poor touch allowed Ashton Fox to get around and rob him. Dadge had to be alert to prevent Tom Berridge getting onto a 35^th clip over the top the keeper rushing to the edge of his box to just head the bouncing ball away from the centre forward. Berridge continued his run and clattered into the keeper going down to claim a penalty but referee Luke Scott’s decision went in favour of Dadge.

Since those early stages the visitors had enjoyed the majority of possession but just as it was beginning to look like Ives might make it to the break on level terms the visitors found a little stroke of luck to get themselves in front. Another swift interchange of passes down the left ended with McGlinchey running at Ives back line and his ball across the face of the box fell to Luke Shaw cutting in from the right. He cleverly got past Herd before unleashing a shot that deflected past Dadge off Charlie Johnson.

Falling behind rattled Ives a little and they could have conceded another only seconds later as George Wilson ran at the defence before being stopped by an effective challenge from Jordan Williams but the ball ran on to Joe Doyle-Charles who played in Berridge. His shot from just inside the box deflected off Fox and looked like it was heading in but this time Dadge recovered his position quickly to make the save.

There was still time before the break for both keepers to need to make a save from free kicks. Paddy Casey brought down McGlinchey on the left corner of Ives box in 44^th minute. Shaw got the free kick up and down over the wall but Dadge moved his feet well to make a comfortable save. White was called into similar action at the other end two minutes into added time as he kept out Kaziboni’s 25 yard free kick that came over the Ravens four man wall.

Similar to the start of the first half Ives had a shot on goal inside the first minute as Tyrone Baker cut in from the left and unleashed a powerful 25 yard right footer that was straight at White. Baker caused the visitors more problems in 55^th minute as he got around the outside of Alex Dean and was hauled down just outside the box in a wide position. Kaziboni clipped the resulting free kick into a large pack of players inside the six yard box where the ball rebounded wide off Johnson as a defender tried to clear.

Once again though Ives were undone by clinical finishing from the Ravens. Another patient build up from the visitors concluded with McGlinchey finding a little space inside the box and calmly rolling the ball into the bottom corner of the net past an unsighted Dadge. The keeper did much better two minutes later as he bravely slid in to take the ball off the toe of Doyle-Charles after the midfielder had been played through by Chambers.

It may have been the visitors taking their foot off the gas a little bit, or simply Ives lifting themselves to another level but the passing of the hour mark seemed to lift the hosts and they really began to take the game to their opposition. That new belief received a massive boost in 65^th minute as Edwards pulled a goal back. Casey delivered a teasing clip in from the right behind the Ravens back line. White started to come for it but with Baker bearing down at pace Dean decided to try to cut out the ball but he only succeeded in knocking it to Edwards on the edge of the box and with the keeper out of position the Ives leading scorer kept his cool to roll the ball home.

With the bit now between their teeth the hosts really tore at their visitors and they had two excellent penalty claims turned down within seconds of each other with fifteen minutes to go. Initially centre back Robertson got his upraised arm in the way of a Herd long throw but referee Scott deemed the contact unintentional. The ball was hoofed clear for another throw in the same spot this time the ball was knocked down to Enoch Andoh on the edge of the box and his goal bound shot struck the arm of a defender and deflected wide. This time referee Scott was unsighted. The resulting Herd corner was won at the back post by Johnson but his header was straight at White.

Ives kept up the pressure and an 80^th minute scramble saw both Edwards and Baker have shots blocked before the ball was eventually hacked clear. But the golden opportunity for the hosts to get on level terms came in 84^th minute. With full back Casey now thrown forward it was he who seized an opportunity to drive into the Ravens box. The ball ricocheted around before eventually falling to the usually deadly Nabil Shariff who had only been on the pitch ninety seconds. He found himself all on his own ten yards out with only keeper White to beat. He tried to beat the keeper low to his left but the big stopper had anticipated it and got down well to block.

Shariff had another half chance as the clock ticked into 90^th minute as he got on the end of a clip over the top from inspirational skipper Richens but this time he did not get enough of a touch to deflect the ball past White. 

The board went up for an added eight minutes to give Ives hope but by this point they had replaced both full backs with forwards and were throwing everyone forward at every opportunity and perhaps unsurprisingly they got caught on the break. McGlinchey got away into the gap that would have normally been filled by Casey and he cut inside before teeing up substitute Max Brogan who beat Dadge low to his left from 20 yards to take the Ravens to the top of the table.

National League North is beckoning for the ex- mining town from Leicestershire whilst the Ives are still in real danger of heading the other way into what would probably be the Northern Premier League Midlands Division. But this performance again gives Ives hope and the rest of the results still means that their destiny is in their own hands. Second placed Tamworth, no doubt smarting from losing top spot, are next up at the quattro tech Westwood Road so get down and support the boys.  

Final Score:  St Ives Town  1  Coalville Town  3    

Goals: 

ST IVES: Edwards 65

COALVILLE: Shaw 41, McGlinchey 57, Brogan 90+2 

Team Line Ups:

ST IVES: Dadge, Casey (Higgs 90), Herd (Shariff 82), Richens (capt), J. Williams, Fox, Kaziboni (Andoh 69), Harris, Edwards, Johnson, Baker, Unused subs: Toseland, Hottor, 

COALVILLE: White, Pep-Ngoma, Putman, Dean, Robertson, Wilson (Brogan 69), Shaw (Chitiza 85), Doyle-Charles (capt), Berridge (Kee 77), Chambers, McGlinchey, Unused subs: Smith, Wilkinson 

Cards: Yellow:  ST IVES: Edwards (20), Harris (44), Kaziboni (62), Andoh (89), Fox (90+3)          COALVILLE: Dean (55), Doyle-Charles (89)

IVES SUPPORTERS MAN OF THE MATCH:  Michael Richens

Attendance: 454

Report by Nigel Howlett, Interview by Andrew Dunn, Match Highlights by Ollie Jones, Photos by Louise Thompson.