Match Report
Harborough Town v St Ives Town
Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central 23-08-2025
Ex Ives assistant manager Mitch Austen will be pleased to get one over on his old boss Ricky Marheineke for the first time. It was also sweet revenge for the hosts after last season when Ives were the only club to do the double over the powerful Bees.
Judging on this performance the Bees will once again by chasing a top two finish this term. A big, powerful, side they dominated the first half against their visitors who to give them their due battled hard and stayed in the game well. Three corners in the first three minutes showed how the hosts started this game. Ives had a fortunate escape from the first of those flag kicks as Josh Walsh delivered to the back post where George Carline directed his close range header onto the back of Ethan Creary and just wide of the post.
The early pressure from the Bees continued and Ives keeper Ollie Taylor pulled off the save of the game to prevent the hosts getting in front from yet another flag kick in fifth minute. Walsh again delivered to the back post where the ball dropped to Danny Newton eight yards out. Newton’s first time effort looked destined for the bottom corner only for Taylor to plunge to his left and pull off a brilliant reaction save.
Dempsey Arlott-John was next to go close for the rampant hosts in eleventh minute as he hurled himself full length to get on the end of Eliot Putman’s curling free kick from the left. Fortunately for Ives the Bees number eleven was stretching just a little to far and could only direct his header wide of the post.
But Arlott-John’s main role in this very efficient Bees machine is more as a provider than a goal scorer. He was already giving Jiah Medrano something of a tough time down the right side before he left Ives wing back for dead with a surging 24th minute run. His low ball into the centre developed into a scramble in the Ives goalmouth. Two shots were bravely blocked by flying bodies before Riley O’Sullivan arrived to lash home the loose ball.
Now with their noses in front the hosts continued to press but Ives back line with Duncan Idehen and Jordan Williams to the fore slowly steadied the ship and Ives sole attempt on goal before the break came just after the half hour when an excellent touch from Amir Hadi teed up a half chance for Theo Alexandrou. The young striker tried an ambitious 30 yard curler that had home keeper Elliott Taylor back peddling but eventually sailed about a metre over the top.
Having battled hard to hang on in there to the break Ives came into the game a little more from the start of the second half. Rather than trying to go long as they had in the early stages they got the ball down and started to try and play through the very solid formation of their hosts.
The first half chance of the second period again fell to the Bees with Arlott-John again very much involved down the right. This 56th minute effort saw the tricky winger exchange passes with O’Sullivan before cutting inside and firing in a pierce low drive that skimmed across the 3G surface forcing Taylor to make a save low to his left.
With Ives now enjoying more of the possession their two wing backs were seizing the opportunity to get forward more and just after the hour Ethan Creary’s cross from the right was only half cleared to Jernade Meade 25 yards out. The hard working midfielder took on the shot first time and drilled a low effort through the crowd but straight into the grateful arms of keeper Elliott Taylor who made a comfortable save.
But just when it started to look like they might find a route back into the game Ives had the wind taken out of their sails as the dangerous O’Sullivan added a second to effectively kill the game. The striker had cleverly drifted out to the left to find a bit of space and was well picked out by Walsh. O’Sullivan used the space he had found very effectively cutting inside at pace before unleashing a screamer from just inside the box that beat the diving Taylor and found the back of the net via the inside of his left hand post.
Both sides began to make their substitutions and the introductions of Kobe Chong, Neo Dobson, Gibou Njie and Jamal Adams for Matty Miles, Alexandrou, Albie O’Keefe and Hadi seemed to further encourage Ives to play much better possession football and as a result they began to look more threatening. Although O’Sullivan still looked a threat for the hosts and he was only denied the opportunity to complete his hat trick by an assistant’s upraised flag as he looked to run clear onto Jutorre Burgess’s perfectly weighted clip over the top with ten minutes to go.
Then with five minutes left a flowing move down the left created Ives best chance to make the last few minutes uncomfortable for the Bees. Meade picked out Njie rampaging forward and the substitute in turn delivered a perfectly weighted through ball to split the host’s defence and put Adams clear one on one with keeper Taylor. Rather than put his foot through it the big centre forward tried to pick his spot and almost beat keeper Taylor who dived to his left to just tip the effort around the post with his outstretched fingers.
Having survived that scare the hosts were able to play out the remaining time without further meaningful threat to maintain their unbeaten start to the season. To give Ives their due they battled hard throughout and managed to stay in the game when others facing such an onslaught may have crumbled. I would say with all confidence that the Bees, well marshalled by Austen, will be very much in the shake up at the right end of the table come next April. They face one of their main challengers for that top spot in a Bank Holiday Monday showdown at Kettering Town. Ives on the other hand will be back at quattro tech Westwood Road where they face step three newcomers Real Bedford.
Final Score: Harborough Town 2 St Ives Town 0 Half Time 1 – 0
Goals:
HARBOROUGH: O’Sullivan 24, 68
ST IVES:
Team Line Ups:
HARBOROUGH: E. Taylor, Carline, Putman, Dolman (capt), Walsh, Morris, Kelly-Evans (Kennedy 75), Hickey, O’Sullivan (Stephens 84), Newton (Burgess 75), Arlott-John (Taylor 84), Unused subs: Williams
ST IVES: Taylor, Creary (capt), Medrano, Meade, Williams, Idehen, Miles (Chong 70), O’Keefe (Njie 78), Hadi (Adams 80), Cross, Alexandrou (Dobson 70), Unused subs: Richens
Referee: Karl Donaghey
Cards: Yellow: HARBOROUGH: none ST IVES: Meade (37), Hadi (62), Williams (90)
IVES SUPPORTERS MAN OF THE MATCH: Jernade Meade
Attendance: 533