Tamworth v St Ives Town

Pitching In Southern League Premier Division Central 23-04-2022

The fact that the home sponsors gave their man of the match award to Lambs keeper Jas Singh gives a big indication that Ives could, and probably should, have ended their league season with a third win in a row and into the bargain ended host’s thirteen game unbeaten run. Two excellent saves from the home stopper in the first eleven minutes prevented the visitors making a similar start to that at Stratford seven days previously and two more one either side of half time ensured that his performance caught the sponsor’s eye.

The hosts playing their fourth game in eight days might have been expected to rest a few players, but manager Andy Peaks likes to keep a tight squad and stick to a winning formula. Their only change from Thursday evenings home win over Biggleswade was an enforced one with Lucas Yeomans coming in for the injured Cameron Howkins. Ives management duo of Mike Ford and Ricky Marheineke went with similar principles and stuck with the side that played the majority of Easter Monday’s home victory over Diamonds and the victory over Stratford 48 hours earlier.

As has become their trait of late Ives were very fast out of the traps and should have got their noses in front in fifth minute. A perfectly weighted clip over the Lambs back line by Michael Richens put Ethan Johnston clear one on one with keeper Singh. The big stopper got everything right closing the angle quickly, staying upright and making himself big to deny the Ives striker with a vital close range block.

Singh was the Lambs saviour again six minutes later as a quick exchange of passes between Nabil Shariff and Johnston just outside the hosts box was concluded with the former sliding the ball into the run of Liam Cross cutting in from the right. His powerful first time strike from the corner of the box was spectacularly tipped over the top by the flying keeper.

Ives continued to press in search of the vital opening goal and they almost found it via an unusual route one move in 14^th minute. Keeper Eddie Brearey’s long clearance carried on the breeze deceiving Ben Bailey and Johnston was quickly onto the bouncing ball looking likely to get clear again. But the big centre back belied his size to recover quickly and do just enough to nudge Johnston as the striker unleashed his shot. The challenge was sufficient to ensure that the shot skimmed the crossbar on its way over the top rather than billowing the net.

The two Ives centre backs combined in the opposition penalty area to create the next chance in 21^st minute. Dylan Williams deep free kick was kept alive beyond the far post by Callum Milne. His header back into the mix caused panic in the Lambs box the ball falling to the feet of Ben Toseland eight yards out but his goal bound effort struck Yeomans and deflected wide.

Having completely run the first quarter of the game Ives were stunned to fall behind to the visitors first meaningful attack in 23^rd minute. An visionary cross field ball from Jack Concannon picked out Dexter Walters in space on the left. His excellent first touch gave him the opportunity to run at Josh Flanagan, jinking right then left he managed to get past the Ives full back before drilling a low cross to the back post where Wahib Tahra gleefully spanked it home into the bottom corner of the net giving Brearey no chance.

Although stung by falling behind Ives quickly responded and Richens twice tried his luck from distance without troubling Singh. But Ives continued to probe in search of parity before the break. Singh was almost caught out by an in-swinging corner from Luke Fairlamb in 41^st minute. The effort was going to dip under the crossbar and it took some very quick footwork and a flying leap to get the necessary touch to divert the ball onto the crossbar and over. But the resulting corner did bring about Ives equaliser. The initial flag kick was half cleared to Flanagan who curled it to the back post where Toseland rose above his marker to knock the ball down into the path of Johnston who directed his header past Singh from six yards.

There was still time before the break for Johnston to miss a golden opportunity to put the visitors in front. A flowing move down the right ended with Cross floating an inviting ball into the centre where Johnston had ghosted in between the Lambs centre backs. Clean contact and it was 2-1, but the Ives striker only managed to get a glancing header onto the ball which flashed wide of the upright much to Singh’s relief.

The second half started in similar vane to the first with Singh again being called into spectacular early action to keep the scores level. Another excellent interchange of passes between Shariff, Williams and Johnston down the left ended with the former teeing up the latter for a well struck shot from the edge of the box that was bound for the bottom corner until the outstretched palm of the diving Singh appeared to knock the ball away. 

Ives keeper Brearey had been enjoying a fairly quiet afternoon up until the hour mark when Lambs skipper Ryan Beswick managed to dispossess Cross in the middle of the park. He found the willing run of Eoin McKeown down the left. The big number nine fed the ball back inside to Concannon who took a touch and unleashed a curling effort from the corner of the box that forced Brearey into a flying save high to his left to tip the ball away.

Having been called upon for his first piece of spectacular action of the afternoon Brearey very quickly found that he needed to be on his toes again four minutes later. Walters decided to try something very unexpected and almost caught the young keeper out. The Lambs left winger picked up possession in a wide left position fully forty yards from goal and decided to step inside on his right foot and go for goal. The ball arced unerringly on the strong breeze heading for the top corner and it took some excellent footwork and a full length dive from Brearey to prevent it sneaking in.

With the two sides having played a lot of football in the last eight days and mid table positions already assured for both there was always likely to come a point in the second half where the game went off the boil. The hosts came within inches of grabbing the winner in 69^th minute as a corner was half cleared to Concannon just outside the box and he seized his chance to hit the dropping ball on the volley meeting the effort as sweet as a nut. With Brearey beaten he thought that he had scored only for the ball to thud into the inside of the post but somehow stay out. With everyone else inside the box watching the ball Concannon was first to react to the rebound but this time snatched at it a screwed the ball horribly wide. That proved to be the final noteworthy effort of the afternoon as both sides used their full compliment of substitutes to try and get fresh legs out onto the park but neither could create any real opportunities in the remaining twenty minutes and both seemed equally happy to settle for a share of the spoils. The Lambs went on to their end of season presentation evening immediately after the game whilst Ives still have the small matter of a County cup final to look forward to on Tuesday evening.

Final Score : Tamworth  1  St Ives Town  1   

Goals : 

TAMWORTH: Tahra 23,

ST IVES: Johnston 41

Teams

TAMWORTH: Singh, Yeomans, Wilder, Beswick (capt), Bailey, Hurst, Concannon (Griffin 86), Mussa, McKeown (Whittingham 69), Tahra, Walters (Parker 84), Unused Subs: Fallows, Howkins

ST IVES: Brearey, Flanagan, Fairlamb, Richens (capt), Milne, Toseland, Cross (Solkhon 90), Hottor, Shariff (Richard-Noel 59), Johnston (Baker 74), Williams, Unused subs: Goff, Osei-Bonsu 

Supporters man of the match: Ed Hottor

Attendance: 640

Report by Nigel Howlett.

Tamworth v St Ives Town 

Pitching In Southern League Premier Division Central 26-09-20

For 85 minutes of this game Ives trip to the home of the Lambs looked likely to bring them maximum reward but the hosts second comeback in five days saw them snatch three late goals to ensure that the visitors got nothing from a very promising trip to the West Midlands.

Manager Ricky Marheineke made changes and looked for a reaction after Tuesday evenings poor FA Cup defeat at Brantham. Out went Ben Toseland and Ben Seymour-Shove who were both dropped to the bench and Kyle Lincoln who was left out of the squad completely. There was a return to the starting eleven for the ebullient Michael Gyasi and debuts for two late new signings left back Jacob Ballinger a loanee from Northampton Town and Brett Solkhon a veteran centre back with over 500 games for Kettering Town under his belt.

It was the hosts who showed the early threat with Thomas Tonks hurling massive throws into Ives six yard box from anywhere within forty yards of the visitors goal. Keeper Martin Conway doing brilliantly to get a fist onto the most dangerous of them under heavy pressure from friend and foe alike.

Ives first corner almost brought them reward in sixth minute as Marc Richards got on the end of Dylan Williams flag kick from the left and was unlucky to see his low goal bound effort blocked inside the six yard box by Kyron Stabana. The ball was kept alive by Williams who lifted it to the back post where Oran Jackson knocked it down into the goalmouth but Stabana was again on hand to scramble it away from Richards.

Two minutes later Ives repeated the trick when Richards again got on the end of a Williams corner from the right but for the second time in a row his on target effort was blocked on the line by a defender. This time the ball rebounded to the visitor’s centre forward who should have probably done better but only succeeded in firing over the top from six yards.

The early action continued and in 13^th minute it was the Lambs turn to feel they should have gone in front when another of Tonks’s long throws got all the way to the back post where it fell at the feet of Jordan Graham who should have scored but spent a few seconds trying to find the ball between his feet just giving Ballinger chance to get back on the line and bravely block the effort at point blank range.

Conway was called into meaningful action again in 25^th minute. Oran Jackson was adjudged to have pushed Jaanal Gordon 25 yards from goal. Lambs skipper Ryan Beswick cleverly curled the free kick over Ives four man wall and it was dipping in the corner before the finger tips of the diving Conway diverted it around the post.

Just seconds before the free kick was taken the visitors had lost their inspirational skipper as Robbie Parker had limped out of the fray to be replaced by Seymour-Shove who also took the armband. 

The remainder of the first half saw both sides more or less cancel each other out with Jackson and Solkhon looking solid at the heart of Ives defence and Jordan Cullinane-Liburd and Lathanial Rowe-Turner equally dealing well with the threat of Richards and the darting runs of Gyasi.

The hosts decided to make a change a half time increasing their aerial threat by replacing Gordon with ex Nottingham Forest man mountain Gerry McDonagh. But it was the visitors who had the first effort on goal of the second period in 51^st minute as Gyasi burst through onto a Richards flick down the right. He cut into the box before firing across the face of Jas Singh’s goal.

Down the other end in 56^th minute Graham continued his poor finishing as he found a little bit of space to get onto the end of a low Dexter Walters cross from the left but again failed to hit the target from close range. The hosts continued to threaten down the left and four minutes later Beswick threaded a ball through into the run of Lindon Meikle whose low driven cross was bravely claimed by a diving Conway at the feet of Graham.

The keeper’s long clearance won Ives another right sided corner and this time it proved third time lucky as Richards again managed to lose his man and divert Williams corner towards goal. This time the ball ended up in the net off the shin of Stabana to put the Ives in front.

Unfortunately they held onto their lead for only a few seconds as straight from the kick off Tonks found space to run at the defence and got all the way into the box before being tripped from behind by Ed Hottor to concede a penalty. Beswick went for power low to Conway’s right with his spot kick and although the keeper got a hand to it he was unable to keep the ball out of the net.

The Lambs management duo realised that they were coming off second best in a lot of areas of the park and decided to make their final two substitutions early replacing Mieckle with Shaquille McDonald and Cullinane-Liburd with Joseph Magunda in 67^th minute. The changes did seem to lift the hosts for a while and Conway was called into spectacular action again in 70^th minute as two long throws in succession caused problems. The first from the right was scrambled away from Walters at the back post. The follow up from the opposite side was won cleanly by McDonagh forcing the Ives keeper to hurl himself high to his left to make a brilliant diving stop. Four minutes later Seymour-Shove conceded a free kick in a dangerous position on the right as a Stabana cross struck his arm just outside the box. But Conway again did well as he claimed Beswick’s curling free kick at the back post.

Having soaked up a little bit of pressure Ives stunned the hosts by regaining the lead with eight minutes to go. A long Conway punt evaded everyone on the edge of the Lambs box allowing Gyasi to claim the ball on left deep inside the hosts box. The youngster kept his cool as he got his head up and calmly picked out Seymour-Shove arriving on the six yard line to give the stand in skipper a tap in.

This time surely the visitors would see out the remaining time, but it was not to be. Four minutes later another long Tonks throw was headed onto Ives crossbar by Jordan Gough. The ball was only partly scrambled away and was eventually fed back into the feet of the same player who was this time a little luckier as his twenty yard effort deflected off the legs of a defender to get past the diving Conway low to his right.

The equaliser lifted the home crowd and the players reacted pushing Ives back as they went in search of a winner which came in 89^th minute. Magunda’s low drive was brilliantly blocked by the diving Conway but the ball was kept alive inside the box and was fed out to Walters whose low drive from a narrow angle deceived the Ives keeper at his near post deflected off the upright and fell to the feet of Graham three yards out in the centre of goal. This time he could not miss!.

There was still time for more action in the added five minutes. In the first of them Hottor came within inches of interrupting the Lambs celebrations as a flowing build up had seen the ball teed up from him 25 yards out. He let fly a screamer that beat keeper Singh comprehensively but skimmed inches over the crossbar.

Hottor’s final action of the afternoon was not such a good one as he managed to pick up his third red card in his short spell with the Ives, this time for a second yellow as he tripped McDonald just outside the box as the speedy striker bore down on goal. To add insult to injury McDonald picked himself up and fired the free kick under a leaping wall to beat Conway low to his left and add an undeserved gloss to the hosts victory. 

Final Score : Tamworth  4  St Ives Town  2    

Goals : Richards 57, Seymour-Shove 82

Team : Conway, Jarvis Wilson, Ballinger, Hottor, Oran Jackson, Solkhon, Gyasi, Parker (capt) (Seymour-Shove 25), Richards, Williams, Hicks  

Unused subs : Toseland, Baker, Clifton, Patrick 

Supporters man of the match : Dylan Williams

Attendance : 339

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

Tamworth v St Ives Town 

BetVictor League Southern Premier Division Central 04-01-20

These two clubs have enjoyed hugely contrasting fortunes since sharing the points at Westwood Road on the opening day of the season way back in sunny August and the gulf in class showed through in this fixture as the table topping Lambs comfortably claimed the three points against the battling Ives on a clear but cold early January return.

The big spending Lambs set out their stall early as they tore into the Ives straight from the off and Finley Iron in the visitors goal had to make his first save of the game in the third minute denying Bilal Yafal after the hosts number ten had cut inside Tom Wood and unleashed a fierce right foot drive from the corner of the box.

Iron was called into action again in ninth minute as ex Kettering maestro Rhys Hoenes got around the outside of Ben Toseland and delivered a dangerous low cross that Iron bravely claimed at the feet of centre forward Dan Creaney.

The hosts should have gone in front from a corner only ninety seconds later as good movement in Ives box meant Yafal managed to lose his marker to get himself a free header at the back post but fortunately for the visitors he inexplicably failed to hit the target from eight yards.

With the hosts enjoying in excess of eighty percent possession in these early stages and zipping the ball around on their 3G surface it was simple hard work which was keeping the Ives on level terms but it was beginning to look inevitable that a goal would come. Sure enough it happened in 21^st minute as failure to clear their lines allowed Hoenes to pick up possession wide on the left and he managed to get to the bye line before picking out Creaney with his pull back and the big striker made no mistake beating the diving Iron with a well struck right footed effort from 15 yards.

It should have been two only two minutes later as Hoenes got put clean through cutting in from the right. Iron came to close him down but rather than lay the ball across to the waiting Creaney, Hoenes went for goal from a narrow angle only to be denied by a well positioned Iron. The Ives keeper kept them in the game again only seconds later as he flung himself to his right to palm away a fierce drive from Tyrell Waite. The resulting corner was won at the near post by Creaney but his flicked header flew just wide.

The very busy Iron was beaten again in 29^th minute but was thankful to his goalpost for keeping out Beswick’s curling free kick from 25 yards that had arced over Ives three man wall and got past the diving keeper low to his left.

The Ives goal continued to lead a charmed life and had a double let off in 31^st minute. Overlapping full back Aaron Forde got down the right and picked out Creaney with his cross. Keeper Iron did well to parry his blistering header into the air but the loose ball fell back to the striker who was brilliantly denied by Alfie Powell as the centre back slid in to deflect the close range effort wide.

Having been under the cosh for so long Ives players could have been forgiven for simply trying to hang on until half time to re-group but to their credit they managed to take the game to their illustrious opponents for a brief period with the break approaching. In 36^th minute Robbie Parker won a ball in midfield and fed Joe Curtis who let fly with a snap shot from fully thirty yards that almost caught out Jas Singh in the hosts goal but the big keeper just managed to get down low to his left to save by the foot of his left hand post.

Ives did get the ball in the net two minutes later only to be denied by an assistant’s upraised flag. A poor clearance from Singh fell to Parker 40 yards from goal, he fed the ball into the feet of Matt Foy just outside the box. Foy clipped the ball over the back line where Curtis who was in an offside position having initially closed down the keeper to create the error made the mistake of moving towards the ball. To late he realised that Ollie Snaith who had made his run from an onside position was steaming in behind him. Snaith slammed the ball home but the flag was already up.

The same assistants flag came to Ives rescue a few times in the opening stages of the second half. Twice in the first five minutes Hoenes was caught by the upraised flag both were obviously close calls as they brought shouts of protest from the Tamworth bench and supporters who were level with the incidents. Their displeasure with the officials was increased in 50^th minute as referee Matt Scholes turned down an appeal for handball after Waite’s low cross appeared to strike the arm of Powell inside the box. 

The flag again came to Ives aid in 52^nd minute as Creaney battled his way into the box before unleashing a fierce drive that was deflected onto the post by the combined efforts of Powell and his goalkeeper. Yafal was on hand to roll home the loose ball but once again the assistant referee came to Ives rescue.

The next fifteen minutes was all Lambs pressure as Ives goal continued to lead a charmed life with the hosts going close four times in that period without forcing another save from Iron. In 57^th minute a corner from left by Forde was met cleanly at the near post by Yafal but he powered his free header over the top. Creaney was equally wasteful a minute later as he got on the end of Beswick’s in-swinging free kick from the right, he also met the ball well but similarly directed it over the top.

Hoenes reputation still goes before him and just after the hour he was quick to go to ground inside the box under challenge from Toseland when if he had stayed on his feet he may well have got a shot away. Referee Scholes was in the perfect position to see the lack of contact and quickly waved away the appeals. The best chance of the four fell to Creaney in 66^th minute as Beswick’s cross from the left deflected off an Ives defender to present him with a free header eight yards out. Rather than placement he went for power and only succeeded in directing the ball straight into the hands of the grateful Iron.

The inevitable second goal did eventually arrive twenty minutes from time as substitute Chris Lait was allowed to range forward unchallenged to the left edge of the box from where he let fly with a low right foot effort that beat the diving Iron low to his left. There were a few moments of controversy as the ball rebounded back into play off the stanchion in the back of the net but after a quick consultation with his assistant correct order was quickly restored as referee Scholes awarded the goal.

The third and clinching goal arrived only four minutes later as Hoenes finally managed to time his run right to beat the offside trap. Yafal gained possession inside the centre circle and quickly fed the ball into the run of Hoenes who rounded the exposed Iron before rolling the ball home.

To their credit Ives continued to work hard but in spite of the tireless running of Matt Foy they were unable to create a clear cut opportunity to test Singh in the remaining period. There was however one more opportunity for Iron to show his abilities as substitutes Jordan Clement and Lait combined down the left to work a shooting opportunity from the edge of the box for the latter that Iron did well to palm away to his right.

There seems little doubt that the Lambs will be in the promotion shake up come the end of the season and they can look forward to a six pointer against nearest challengers Bromsgrove next Saturday whilst relegation threaten Ives can look forward to a six pointer of a different kind as fellow strugglers Lowestoft visit Westwood Road.

Final Score : Tamworth  3  St Ives Town  0   

Goals : none 

Team : Iron, Ward, Toseland, Wood, Powell, Jarvis Wilson (Clifton 46), Bailey (Seymour-Shove 68), Parker (capt), Foy, Curtis, Snaith (Dylan Wilson 75) 

Unused subs : none

Supporters man of the match : Finley Iron

Attendance : 638

Report by Nigel Howlett