Peterborough Sports v St Ives Town

Pitching In Southern League Premier Division Central 26-03-2022

For the second game in a row seventeen year old Oxford United loanee goalkeeper Eddie Brearey stood almost single handed between Ives and a pasting. In fact his claim to be man of the match was so unanimous that even the most ardent Turbines supporter could not deny him the accolade. Sadly that fact that he had to show such superb form meant that the players in front of him struggled to perform on a hard bumpy pitch for the second game in a row. On a slight positive note this performance was a little better than Tuesday evenings woeful display at Hednesford.

Three Ives players had pre-game fitness tests with Ben Toseland and Nabil Shariff getting through to take their places in the starting line up but Oran Jackson not so fortunate, although deemed close enough to fitness to be named on the bench. One other piece of good news was Luke Fairlamb continuing his road back to full fitness with a first start since September. His fully fit presence could be vital in the remaining games.

The game started in glorious sunny conditions with Ives supporters fully knowledgeable that their opponents, lead by ex Ives legend Jimmy Dean, were a quality side firmly ensconced in the play-off places. But they were all hoping for a reaction from the players following Tuesday evenings poor showing. Sadly the game started in almost identical fashion with poor defending allowing the hosts to get their noses in front inside the first ten minutes. A ball in from the right found the feet of centre forward Mark Jones who managed to hold the ball up well before teeing up Lamine Sherif who simply rolled it into the corner of the net past the unsighted Brearey.

Despite that early setback Ives battled well to keep the hosts at bay and it took until 25^th minute before Brearey had to start his heroics. Unusually patient build up from the Turbines down the right was concluded with Josh McCammon beating the visitors offside trap to get clean through on goal. The Ives stopper was smartly off his line to close the angle and block the shot at close range with his legs.

Ives only half chance in the first 45 minutes came two minutes after Brearey’s excellent block when Josh Flanagan got past Luke Warner-Eley on the right and delivered a teasing cross that just eluded Shariff in the centre as he tried to force his way between the two centre backs.

Liam Cross lost possession in the centre circle to allow the hosts to create another opportunity on the half hour. McCammon robbed Cross and fed the ball through to Dion Sembie-Ferris who cut in from the left and curled his effort beyond the despairing dive of Brearey but inches wide of his left hand post. The final chance of the first period was also created by the hosts two minutes before the break as Sembie-Ferris and Jones combined well down the right the move ending with the former firing well over from just outside the box.

The second period quickly turned into Brearey versus the Turbines front men. The young keeper started as he meant to go on producing a fantastic double save to first deny Ryan Fryatt from close range and then even more brilliantly keep out the follow up from Sembie-Ferris as he bravely spread himself in front of the winger’s effort from inside the six yard box.

Brearey was beaten only once in the second half and it came only three minutes after the re-start as Jones lost his marker to turn home a low Sembie-Ferris cross from the right giving the keeper no chance from eight yards. That was virtually the wingers last input to the game as he limped off a few moments later to be replaced by Jordan Macleod and the substitute was next to bring out the brilliance in Brearey as he burst through the Ives back line to get on a through ball from Warner-Eley. Once again Brearey was very quickly off his line to close the striker and block his effort at close range.

Brearey did enjoy a little bit of good fortune in 58^th minute. McCammon picked up a poor defensive header from Brett Solkhon and took on the Ives defence before threading a ball into the run of Jones who slotted past the exposed keeper only to find that he had not quite timed his run right and the assistant’s flag was raised.

The host’s loanee keeper from National League North Boston United, Peter Crook, had enjoyed a quiet afternoon for the first hour of his debut but he was called upon to make his first real save in 62^nd minute. Cross broke from the centre of the park to send substitute Tyrone Baker on a run down the left. Baker got outside Dan Jarvis before firing in a left footer that forced the keeper to get down low to his right to push the ball around the post. Needless to say Ives were almost caught out from their own corner as the hosts broke at pace with Macleod being put through for a clear run on goal again. But once again Brearey came up to the plate as he plunged to his right to push the shot away.

The young stopper produced what was probably his best save of the day three minutes later as he instinctively raised a solid hand to keep out McCammon’s close range stab at goal. The chance was created by Jones robbing a dallying Solkhon 25 yards from his own goal.

The chances continued to clock up for the hosts, but so to did the saves from the amazing Brearey. In 69^th minute Macleod found himself put clean through again, this time by Kyjuon Marsh-Brown. Having failed to beat Brearey with a shot on three previous one on ones the substitute decided this time to try and go around the exposed keeper, but Brearey again showed his agility getting down to knock the ball away from the feet of the striker who was clearly begining to wonder what he must do to get past this man.

That disbelief grew in the striker two minutes later as he was once again denied by the keeper. His shot from the edge of the box was pushed away low to his left by the excellent Brearey who again brought gasps of admiration from everyone in the ground as he managed to recover his poise sufficiently to bravely block McCammon’s follow up effort at point blank range.

Almost every effort that the hosts had at goal in the second half was on target but they did fail to hit it with one good opportunity in 74^th minute when Sherif fed through Marsh-Brown on the right and he put in a cross to the near post where an unmarked Jones should have done better than steer his header past the post.

The final piece of brilliance from Brearey came two minutes later when Lawlor delivered a deep free kick into the box from the right. Fryatt got above his marker to win the first header and head the ball down into the six yard box where Jones stabbed it towards goal but another brilliant reaction save from the keeper saw him push the ball away.

A final flurry up the other end ten minutes from time saw Flanagan force another smart save out of Crook but from that point the hosts cleverly saw out time without any further scares to even more firmly cement their play off aspirations with just one more win required to almost guarantee that spot. Ives on the other hand still find themselves looking warily over their shoulders and probably still in need of six more points to ensure themselves of another season at step 3.

Final Score : Peterborough Sports  2  St Ives Town  0   

Goals : 

SPORTS: Sherif 8, Jones 48

ST IVES: 

Teams

SPORTS: Crook, Jarvis, Warner-Eley (Bazeley 90+3), Fryatt, R. Jones (capt), Lawlor, Sembie-Ferris (Macleod 53), Sherif, M. Jones (Hilliard 89). McCammon, Marsh-Brown, Unused subs: Hawkins, McGowan

ST IVES: Brearey, Flanagan, Solkhon (capt), Hottor, Milne (Aiyelabola 87), Toseland, Cross, Osei-Bonsu (Johnston 65), Shariff, Fairlamb (Baker 51), Williams, Unused subs: Jackson, Egole

Supporters man of the match : Eddie Brearey

Attendance : 282

Report by Nigel Howlett. Photos by Louise Thompson.

Peterborough Sports v St Ives Town 

BetVictor League Southern Premier Division Central 22-02-20

Ex Ives Legend Jimmy Dean will have been delighted as his promotion chasing charges completed a comprehensive double over the struggling Ives in a vastly one sided affair where the impressive Turbines barely needed to get out of second gear to claim the three points and at the same time move themselves up into second place in the table,

This was always going to be a tough place to come for Ives up against the league’s leading scorers with a defence which has failed to keep a clean sheet in the league since early October. But manager Ricky Marheineke will be disappointed in the manner of this defeat as it was old defensive failings which returned to haunt the otherwise resourceful visitors.

The game was almost over as a contest inside the first fifteen minutes as the Turbines took advantage of poor marking to race into a two goal lead. The opener arrived in the tenth minute as ex Ives maestro Lewis Hilliard delivered one of his trademark teasing corners to the back post where Paul Malone rose above the crowd to power a header on target. Martin Conway in the Ives goal did brilliantly to get down smartly to his right to keep it out but Mark Jones reacted first to prod home the loose ball from close range.

Four minutes later it was 2-0 as the tricky Dion Sembie-Ferris sprinted away down the right before delivering a powerful cross to the back post where the unmarked Jones rose majestically to direct his header inside the post giving Conway no chance from eight yards.

However it could all have been so different as prior to the goal Ben Seymour-Shove had twice got away down the left but wasted the opportunities as on both occasions he failed to pick out team mates in the centre over hitting both crosses well beyond his colleagues. The first time the ball simply running out of play and the second time oddly hitting the corner flag and staying in but it was a Turbines defender that reacted first to hack the ball away. Ives only other half chance of an otherwise very one sided first half arrived in 16^th minute when Edmund Hottor took a clever free kick that put Dylan Wilson clear into space on the left. Wilson did little better than his team mate before him as he delivered his cross into the six yard box but only succeeded in picking out a defenders foot and Malone swiftly cleared the danger.

Ives continued to battle hard to keep a foothold in the game but it was always the hosts who looked more likely to add to their lead. Sports two wide men were giving both Ives full backs a tough time. It was Jordan Patrick’s turn to get caught out in 22^nd minute as Josh Moreman cut inside his attempted challenge from the left and ruffled the side netting with a low right foot drive from the edge of the box that had Conway plunging to his right to cover it.

The Turbines seemed to lift their efforts again as the half drew to a close. In 39^th minute Maniche Sani and Sembie-Ferris combined well down the right with the latter working his way past Ben Toseland to get to the bye line before picking out the former with his pull back. Fortunately Sani side footed his shot straight and Conway who held on well. But the Ives keeper found himself beaten again two minutes later as another dead ball situation lead to their downfall. Hillyard was again the provider as his corner from the right was met powerfully by Malone who directed his header low past Conway’s left hand and into the back of the net.

Three more Hillyard corners came into the Ives box in the remaining minutes before the break and each one lead to another scoring opportunity for the hosts. In the 43^rd minute a deep corner from the left brought about a few seconds of head tennis between Sani and Richard Jones. The final effort on goal coming from the Turbines skipper but Conway was in position to make a clean catch. Two minutes later it was again Malone’s turn to get on the end of another perfectly delivered flag kick but this time he powered his header inches wide. Malone was also the target for the final act of the first half and he again won an almost unchallenged header at the back post and this time Conway had to bring off a more spectacular save palming the powerful effort away to his left.

The hard working Ollie Snaith had picked up a knock in the first half and was replaced by Andrew Osei-Bonsu at the break but there was no signs of the visitors getting even a tiny foothold back into this game. In 47^th minute Ben Seymour-Shove delivered an in-swinging free kick from the left into the danger zone at the back post but it was always odds on that it would be a Sports head that won the ball and sure enough Jones rose to head the ball clear. 

Toseland found himself completely out numbered on the left side of Ives defence in 51^st minute as Dan Lawlor, Matt Miles and Sembie-Ferris all combined to tee up Sani who turned on a sixpence to slam a shot on goal that Conway did brilliantly to keep out low to his right. But the Ives keeper was given no chance at all as the hosts increased their lead in 68^th minute. The pack hunting style worked well for the Turbines as Jones managed to win the ball back high up the park before selflessly rolling the ball across the edge of the box to the unmarked Moreman who kept his cool to send the exposed Conway the wrong way before rolling the ball in the corner of the net.

To their credit Ives kept battling and Wilson slotted their best chance of the otherwise torrid afternoon inches wide in the 71^st minute. The chance had been created by the hard working Hottor winning on of his many challenges in the centre of the park and rolling the ball to Robbie Parker who in turn fed Wilson through the left channel. The speedy striker’s first time left foot effort flashed across the face of goal but just the wrong side of the post. Home keeper Lewis Moat was also called upon to do his hardest work of the afternoon in the next few minutes as he twice leapt high to punch away dangerous Seymour-Shove corners.

Normal service was soon resumed and in 75^th minute substitute Cameron Johnson bustled his way through before firing wide from a good position. The final nail in Ives coffin was delivered by another of their ex players as substitute Avelino Viera thumped home a loose ball from just inside the box in the 89^th minute. The diving Conway did his best to keep it out but the sheer power of the shot meant it deflected off him into the roof of the net.

There was still an opportunity for Conway to show his abilities and bravery as he plunged in at the feet of Johnson to deny the striker after he had been put clean through the leaky centre of the Ives defence by fellow sub Jim Stevenson deep in added time.

This was a very tough day at the office for the Ives but it is a game that they must get out of their system very quickly and they do at least have an opportunity to do so with an otherwise inconvenient County Cup semi-final visit to Eynesbury on Tuesday evening ahead of the two games which will probably decide the fate of their season as fellow strugglers Alvechurch and Leiston visit Westwood Road in a four day spell starting next Saturday.  

Final Score : Peterborough Sports  5  St Ives Town  0     

Goals :  none

Team : Conway, Patrick, Toseland, Hottor, Hamblin, Powell, Snaith (Osei-Bonsu 46), Parker (capt), Wilson (Dean 77), Curtis (Clifton 70), Seymour-Shove  

Unused subs : Jackson

Supporters man of the match : Edmund Hottor

Attendance : 352

Report by Nigel Howlett.