Biggleswade Town v St Ives Town  

Pitching In Southern League Premier Division Central 30-08-2021

Two games in 48 hours proved a step to far for a depleted Ives although their opponents were also missing three players and most of their usual management crew due to a Covid outbreak that under previous quarantine regulations would have lead to a postponement. 

With Brett Solkhon and Luke Fairlamb joining the long list of injured players for the Ives and Robbie Parker not being risked for a second game so quickly after his first ninety minutes in almost a year on Saturday manager Ricky Marheineke found himself needing to make some late signings to field a competitive side. The two players brought in were a familiar figure to Ives supporters centre back Sam Cartwright and an experienced central midfielder in ex Cambridge United player David Bridges. Neither had played a competitive game elsewhere this season. With Waders manager Chris Nunn one of those absent due to Covid his stand in was player coach Joe Howe who named himself on the bench. 

Both of Ives late signings went straight into the starting eleven with Cartwright lining up alongside Callum Milne forming a new and untested centre back pairing and Bridges replacing the rested Parker in the middle of the park. Other changes saw Eniola Agemoh-Davies replace the rested Ben Toseland at full back and Ben Seymour-Shove getting his first start of the season in place of the injured Fairlamb.

Not surprisingly Ives new look defence was a little shaky early on and keeper, and skipper for the day, Paul White was called into action after only 45 seconds diving low to his right to keep out a crisp right footer from Lewis Clayton after the Waders right winger had got on the end of a cross from the left by the speedy Magliore Muyembe. Ives did not learn from that early let off as hesitancy in defence lead to them falling behind only four minutes later. A long throw from the left by Kane Ferrell was allowed to bounce in the box. In the ensuing scramble the ball fell to Clayton who made no mistake this time slamming the loose ball high into the roof of the net from eight yards.

The visitors seemed to decide that the best way to protect their vulnerable looking defence was to go on the attack themselves and going forward they quickly started to look threatening and put pressure on what looked like a similarly uncomfortable Waders back four. Seymour-Shove had twice failed to hit the target from good positions before a storming run from midfield by Agemoh-Davies levelled things up in 14^th minute. The young full back picked up the ball on the halfway line before surging forward through the heart of the hosts back line playing the perfect one two with Nabil Shariff just outside the box then finishing in style from just inside the box.

Both sides continued to look threatening going forward and it was the visitors that got their noses in front for the first time with an even better goal in 26^th minute. Shariff challenged for and won the ball off James Peters on the edge of the centre circle. It ran loose to Liam Cross who instantly set off at pace on a diagonal run through the centre of a struggling Waders back line going past two defenders before outpacing Stevan Shaw into the box and then firing a left footed effort across the diving Jake Alley and into the far corner of the net.

But the lead was short lived as only four minutes later the hosts restored parity with a flowing move down the left well finished by Jemale Mckenzie. Peters timed his run through the left channel to perfection to get on the end of a threaded ball from Ferrell and he got to the bye line before picking out Joe Neal with his pull back. The unselfish number nine rolled the ball on to Mckenzie who side footed it home low to the left of the unsighted White from just inside the box.

Like two heavyweight boxers the two teams continued to slug it out blow to blow towards the bell. The hosts almost landed two blows and the visitors one in the remaining time before the break. In 34^th minute a poor ball out of defence by Cartwright fell to Neal who got to the edge of the box before unleashing a low drive that White blocked with his legs. The big keeper did even better to keep out the follow up effort from Mckenzie pushing it around the post as the lively number ten tried to screw it home from a tight angle.

Having survived that scare Ives should have gone back in front in 38^th minute as their first corner of the day delivered from the right by Cross picked out the head of the unmarked Bridges who failed to hit the target with a free header from eight yards.

Cartwright redeemed his earlier slip four minutes before the break when he performed a miraculous recovery to prevent Neal putting the Waders back in the lead. The young centre back had been caught flat footed on the halfway line as Neal sprinted clear onto a ball over the top but he did not give up and with White doing just enough to delay the centre forward Cartwright was able to slide in and dispossess him cleanly on the edge of the box. 

As in the first period the hosts set the early pace after the re-start but the first real opportunity for either side did not arrive until 58^th minute when Muyembe got away down the left and delivered a ball to the near post where Clayton was able to take it down, swivel and fire off a shot that White did well to block. He did equally well to react and pounce on the loose ball ahead of the marauding Squire.

Two minutes later the Waders did go back in front in bizarre fashion as Ives needlessly put themselves under pressure playing a free kick from near the halfway line back towards their own goal and then losing possession to concede a needless corner. Ferrell delivered it into the mix where an under pressure White got a poor punch on it. The ball fell to Squire who knocked it towards goal but Dylan Williams was on hand to fire the ball off the line unfortunately for him his attempted clearance cannoned off his own goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

Falling behind in such unfortunate circumstances did not knock the Ives for long and Shariff went close to an equaliser only four minutes later as he took down a ball in from the right by Cross and turned Shane Bush before unleashing a fierce drive from a narrow angle that beat Alley but slammed into the upright and rebounded back into play.

The visitors went close to that precious equaliser again in 73^rd minute as another cross from the right caused problems in the host’s box. This time the deliverer was Agemoh-Davies and Shariff bravely went in for his clip to the near post with both keeper Alley and Bush. The loose ball ran to Seymour-Shove but the angle was almost impossible and he flashed his effort across the face of goal and out for a throw.

Ives continued to enjoy good possession and keep probing but they still looked vulnerable to the ball over the top and were almost caught out in 79^th minute as Neal broke clear to a ball clipped into the left channel. White came racing from his goal, but always looked second best and sure enough the centre forward beat him to the ball forcing the keeper to clatter into him. White was perhaps a little fortunate that Neal was heading away from goal when the contact came so the card he received was yellow.

Late changes for the Ives saw the welcome return of another long term injury absentee Jack Snelus who replaced Seymour-Shove for the final ten minutes and Ryan Robbins who replaced the tiring Shariff five minutes later. The latter could so easily have made himself the hero with his first touch as he had only been on the field a matter of second when a Cross corner from the right was knocked down to him ten yards from goal, sadly the big striker got it horribly wrong screwing his first time effort well wide.

There was an added four minutes indicated by referee Jack Bloxham and that was time for Ives to go close three times. In the first of them substitute Robbie Parker got on the end of a teasing cross from the right by Agemoh-Davies but only succeeded in powering his header inches over from a good position. Two shouts for spot kicks came in the last two minutes first Robbins and Cross combined on the left with the former running at the defence, getting clipped by Bush just outside the box but staying on his feet then going down when unchallenged a few strides later. He picked up a yellow card for his troubles.

The second one was probably a better shout as Cross ran onto a through ball from Hottor but the young wide man had let the ball run away from him when the minimal contact came inside the box from a covering defender. Personal opinion from an observer only a few metres from both incidents was that if either had been given they would have been a very soft penalty to award and with referee Jack Bloxham in good position for both I think that he made the right decisions.

Overall opinion was that it was a game that we could have, and should have, got something from and that something could easily have been three points. Our chance for revenge against our neighbours down the A1 will come on Boxing Day but for now it is time to regroup, refocus, get a few more of the walking wounded back to full fitness and march on to another big test as we visit Needham Market in the FA Cup next Saturday.   

Final Score : Biggleswade Town  3  St Ives Town  2      

Goals : 

BIGGLESWADE : Clayton 5, Mckenzie 32, White (own goal) 60

ST IVES : Agemoh-Davies 14, Cross 26

Teams

BIGGLESWADE: Alley, Shaw, Ferrell, Peters, Hall, Bush (capt), Clayton (Kone 75), Squire, Neal, Mckenzie (Koya 66), Muyembe  Unused subs : Purse, Hill, Howe

ST IVES: White (capt), Agemoh-Davies, Flanagan, Hottor, Milne, Cartwright, Cross, Bridges (Parker 52), Shariff (Robbins 84), Williams, Seymour-Shove (Snelus 79)  Unused subs : Toseland, Heath 

Ives Supporters man of the match : Liam Cross

Attendance : 215

Report by Nigel Howlett. Photos by Louise Thompson.

Biggleswade Town v St Ives Town

BetVictor League Southern Premier Division Central 17-08-19

After two away defeats in four days the embryonic league table does not make great reading for Ives fans but once again the boys will come away from the game feeling that they could easily have got something from it if they had taken the opportunities when they got into the opposition box.

The Waders have always been competitive in this League and coming into this game smarting from a midweek home drubbing by near neighbours Royston they were going to be all out to get the result. There were four casualties from their previous line up including ex Ives men Jack Bradshaw and Liam McDevitt. The visitors on the other hand made only one change reverting back to the same starting eleven as the opening game with Danny Kelly coming back in to replace Charlie De’ath who dropped to the bench.

With the Royston game still in the back of their minds the hosts were always going to be a little nervous early on and they showed this failing to spot Jack Snelus picking up an early Ty Ward corner from the right on the edge of the box. The young striker’s rasping drive was to hot for home keeper Sam Donkin to hold but his defenders came to his aid scrambling the loose ball away before an Ives striker could prod it home.

Mc Devitt’s replacement Tom Smith picked up a nasty looking facial injury in 15^th minute in a clash of heads with Jarvis Wilson as the Ives man did just enough to prevent the young centre back getting on the end of a deep Kieron Forbes free kick. Smith was off the field receiving treatment for four minutes but despite of good midfield possession Ives were unable to carve out a clear shooting opportunity during their numerical advantage.

Immediately following Smith’s return the hosts created the best opportunity of the first period as Solomon Sambou fed a ball from the right into the feet of Joe White deep inside Ives box. The big striker had his back to goal and appeared to be well marshalled by Wilson but he showed excellent touch and strength to hold off Wilson, pirouette, and get away a low shot the keeper Martin Conway did well to block with his feet.

Most of the traffic during the latter part of the first half was flowing towards Ives goal but the only other time Conway was called into meaningful action was in 35^th minute when Jordan Gent rose highest to Matt Ball’s corner from the right and directed a looping header on target from fifteen yards but Conway was in the right place to tip the effort over the top.

The powerful White was generally being handled well by Ives defenders but he was still showing his abilities. Five minutes before the break he held up a ball into his feet well on the edge of the box before feeding in Sambou and then spinning off his man to get on the end of Sambou’s clip into the centre but he failed to hit the target with his flick which flew over the top from a good position.

The final effort of the half came in 44^th minute and was a fiercely struck free kick from the left hand corner of the box by Ball that had Conway flinging himself to his left to cover but the effort flew inches over the angle of crossbar and post to send the sides in equal at the break.

Both sides came out after the break looking for that all important opening goal. There were only ninety seconds on the second half clock when Robbie Parker jinked his way into the Waders box but things would not open up enough for him to get his shot away and his attempt to feed in Snelus was blocked and the chance was gone.

Three minutes later and it was the turn of the hosts to go close. Liam Brooks slid a slide rule pass into the well-timed run of White and keeper Conway did very well to spread himself to block the big striker’s first-time effort from ten yards with his legs. Smith rose highest to the resulting corner but under heavy pressure could only direct his effort over the top.

An early change of left winger by the hosts only five minutes after the break saw Junior Soares replaced by Sean Lucien but that move only heralded a good few minutes for Ives. Only seconds later a flowing move concluded with Snelus and Tom Wood combining well to work their way into the host’s box but again neither man managed to get a shot away and as the ball was eventually fed out to the overlapping Ward he went for glory from a narrow angle and blazed over the top.

Less than a minute later Dan Clifton looked like he had put Snelus clear into the box only for the ball to get stuck in the young striker’s feet. His eventual attempt to set up Ezra Forde for a shooting opportunity on the edge of the box with a clever back heel was successful but the Ives centre forward’s effort lacked power and provided a comfortable save for Donkin.

Almost immediately after that came Ives best chance of the afternoon as Snelus picked out Ward in space on the left and the Ives full back delivered a teasing low ball along the six yard line that it looked like Forde arriving at the back post was going to slide home but he got things horribly wrong and failed to make contact the ball running on to safety much to the relief of Donkin.

Having gone so close to getting that all important first goal Ives then fell behind to a soft goal only two minutes later. Lucien who had barely been involved up to that point suddenly found himself in a little bit of space on the left. An interchange of passes with Ball saw him pick up the return ball on the corner of the box, a step inside and a curling right foot effort that beat the despairing dive of Conway and crept in the bottom corner of the net was just the confidence boost that the Waders needed.

To their credit Ives kept battling and came close to an equaliser in 63^rd minute as Ward’s cross from the left carried on the breeze and almost deceived Donkin. The keeper did just enough to touch it onto the crossbar and Jackson following up got onto the loose ball first but Donkin recovered well and was in position to smother the Ives full back’s effort at his near post.

As Ives pushed forward in search of an equaliser they were always likely to be vulnerable to a break away, but when the second goal came in 71^st minute it was a calamity of the visitor’s own making. A poor delivery into the box from a short corner saw Ives caught out with virtually everyone in the Waders penalty area. Ball picked up the clearance and fed in Lucien who broke into the box only to be clumsily taken down by a fast recovering Johnson for a pretty much cast-iron penalty. There was little reason to argue the award of the spot kick but there was much more controversy over the eventual outcome of the kick. Conway plunged low to his left to make an excellent save to deny White and the big striker fired the rebound wide. But Ives players and supporters celebration of the save and the hope that it would provide stimulus for a recovery was short lived as after a short consultation with his assistant referee Elliott Kaye ruled that the kick should be retaken because Conway had left his line to early. Wilson and Parker both picked up yellow cards for taking their complaints a little to far and Brooks who took over spot kick duty sent Conway the wrong way with attempt number two thus doubling the host’s advantage and effectively killing off the game with twenty minutes to go.

Manager Ricky Marheineke immediately made two substitutions throwing on strikers Ben Seymour-Shove and Andrew Osei-Bonsu to replace Forde and Clifton. With more men thrown forward Ives continued to search for at least a consolation. With thirteen minutes to go Snelus fired in a fierce rising drive from twenty yards the clipped the outside of the stanchion on the way past as Donkin looked on.

As has often been the case when he has been introduced Seymour-Shove brought an increased level of urgency and threat into Ives attack and in the remaining minutes he had a couple of snap shots blocked before giving Donkin his first real test of the day as Wood set him up to fire in a low drive from the edge of the box that the Waders keeper had to dive full stretch to his right to tip around.

So for the second game in a row no reward for Ives on their travels and the slightly worrying aspect is that both opponents looked vulnerable at times. Present conclusion is that it is way to early to press the panic button and the football being played is of better quality than last season we just have to find a way to come up with that all important cutting edge whilst ensuring that we remain solid at the back which is really just stating the obvious.

Final Score : Biggleswade Town  2  St Ives Town  0     

Goals :  none

Team : Conway, Jackson, Ward, Johnson (Dylan Wilson 84), Kelly, Jarvis Wilson, Wood, Parker (capt), Forde (Seymour-Shove 72), Snelus, Clifton (Osei-Bonsu 72)

Unused subs : De’ath, Snaith, 

Supporters man of the match : Jack Snelus

Attendance : 160

Match report by Nigel Howlett. Video by Dave Hook. Photos by Gemma & Louise Thompson.