Match Report
Harborough Town v St Ives Town
Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central 12-04-2025
With the clock ticking down it looked like an impressive performance was not going to be enough to keep Ives out of the bottom four as results elsewhere were going against them. But this side just never knows when they are beaten and sure enough up popped substitute Johnson Gyamfi to win the game with a fantastic strike that was worthy of winning any game. It was the only thing all afternoon to silence the noisy contingent of one hundred plus Spanish fans who form the Bees European fan club. More used to seeing their Leicestershire heroes on the hosts streaming service in their native land their enthusiasm knew no bounds and they ensured that the game, played in weather more akin to the Costa de Sol than an English April afternoon, was played in a fantastic atmosphere throughout.
With manager Ricky Marheineke still away it was the duo of assistant managers Adam Fisher and Jim Freeman in charge for the second game in a row and they made just one change from the team that gained a vital point last week against another of the play-off contenders Halesowen Town. That was an enforced one with Benji Mensah not recovered from injury Josh Allen came into the starting eleven. The hosts, managed by ex Ives assistant Mitchell Austin, who came into this game on a twelve match unbeaten run dating back to January, also made a single change with fit again skipper Connor Kennedy coming in for Dempsey Arlott-John who dropped to the bench.
It was Ives who stole a march on their illustrious opponents as their high pressing game caused problems for the Bees back three and that paid early dividends as Amir Hadi claimed possession inside the centre circle before feeding through a perfectly weighted ball into the well timed run of Allen. The speedy striker outpaced Liam Dolman and rounded keeper Elliott Taylor before rolling the ball home to give Ives an eighth minute lead.
The pressure in their own half was causing the hosts all sorts of problems and the combined pressing of Hadi and George Munday forced Taylor and Dan Cooper into a mix up in 17th minute. The loose ball falling to Peter Abimbola 30 yards from goal on the left. With Taylor a long way from his goal a bit of composure was required but the powerful midfielder got way to much on his effort and the ball flew high and wide much to the relief of the stranded keeper.
A few moments after that a break in play whilst Taylor got some treatment allowed Austin to get his troops together and re-shape his side which then went to a flat back four. This change in formation allowed the Bees to get more of a foothold in the game and Jutorre Burgess had their first effort of the game in 19th minute but he dragged his 30 yarder wide of Dan Wilks right hand post.
The big keeper was happy to watch that one go by but he was called into spectacular action seven minutes later. Wing back Josh Walsh cut inside from the left and let fly a curler from the left corner of the box that looked destined for the top corner until Wilks intervened leaping full length to his left to palm the ball away. Riley O’Sullivan latched onto the loose ball and fired it wide but the flag was up.
Spurred on by their big crowd the hosts continued to build the pressure and Alex Morris should probably have done better as he shook off his marker to get on the end of Cooper’s 30th minute corner at the back post but the big centre back could only direct his close range header straight into the hands of the grateful Wilks.
Wilks was Ives saviour again six minutes before the break when Rob Morgan ghosted in to get on the end of Walsh’s in-swinging free kick from the right. He looked to have directed his header over Wilks but the agile stopper arced in the air to stretch and fingertip the ball over the crossbar.
The half time break brought about the first change of the game with Kennedy being replaced in the centre of midfield by Arlott-John to reverse the hosts pre-game change. The change seemed to further spur on the Bees and both Ben Starkie and Arlott-John fired wide from 25 yards early in the second period. Wilks was in action again in 51st Minute as he did well to get across to his near post to keep out an audacious effort from Walsh who had gone for goal from a narrow angle with a free kick conceded by Ethan Creary who bundled over the tricky Starkie just outside the box.
Two minutes later it was the mere presence of Wilks who preserved Ives lead as he scrambled across goal and spread himself across O’Sullivan forcing the Bees centre forward to volley wide from close range as he got on the end of Starkie’s clip in from the left. The big keeper was in action again in 55th minute as he flung himself low to his left to hang onto Starkie’s low drive after he had been played through the left channel by Ben Stephens.
Ives raids into Bees territory were sporadic in this early period of the second half but Creary did spurn a good half chance in 62nd minute. The battling Hadi got down the left and delivered a teasing cross that was only headed clear as far as Creary on the edge of the box but the young defender snatched at the chance and failed to hit the target.
Creary was being tested by Starkie and he picked himself up a 64th minute yellow card as he bundled over the tricky young winger 30 yards from goal. Walsh delivered the free kick to the back post area where skipper Alex Collard did well to prevent O’Sullivan getting on the end of it. The resulting corner again picked out Morris but once more the big defender could only direct his header straight at Wilks.
The heroic keeper was finally beaten in 69th minute when Morgan managed to bustle his way through the heart of Ives back line, he was forced away from goal but managed to deliver a low cross to the near post where Stephens turned it past Wilks from close range.
The ground was now rocking with most in the stadium now expecting the Bees to press on and win the game. But that was not how it proved to be as the equaliser seemed more to lift the Ives who once again wrestled control of the game back and began to create chances of their own.
Only three minutes after the leveller Creary ghosted in unmarked to get on the end of Claudio Dias’s in-swinging corner from the left. But the youngster failed to get a clean contact on the ball six yards out and the chance was gone. Habib Makanjuola was introduced in place of a limping Dias in 74th minute and with almost his first touch he played a ball inside the full back to put Hadi in on the left but Taylor was equal to the big number nine’s effort making a smart save at his near post.
Ed Hottor had replaced Allen in 67th minute and the next chance came his way ten minutes from time as he also got played in on the left, this time by Hadi. The powerful midfielder struck a fierce low drive that beat the diving Taylor but rebounded to safety off the base of his right hand upright.
Moments later Taylor pulled off a brilliant reaction save to retain the parity. Hadi delivered a dangerous low cross into the near post area from the left. Munday lunged in to get across in front of Dolman and directed his close range flick on target. Taylor flung himself to his left to somehow keep the ball out.
But agility was not enough to keep out Gyamfi’s winner that came in the second of five added minutes. Although the strike was perfect and was worthy of winning many a game there was a little controversy in the goal. Jernade Meade was rampaging through the centre of the Bees back line and looked like bursting clear when referee Richard Morris called play back because the ball had ricocheted off him into the path of Meade. The uncontested drop ball to the feet of Meade 25 yards from goal seemed to catch out the host’s defence. Meade’s short pass into the feet of Gyamfi just outside the box and the Ives substitute still had an awful lot to do as he battled his way through two attempted tackles before curling his effort high into the net past the grasping fingers of the flying Taylor to silence the huge crowd except for the tiny bunch of Ives supporters behind the goal who were going crazy.
With all of the other teams down the bottom picking up points this invaluable victory still sees Ives only one point above the drop zone with three massive games to come. The Bees still sit only three points off the play-off places and they can now do Ives a massive favour as their three remaining games are against Ives main rivals for that last relegation place Redditch, Barwell and Sudbury.
Final Score: Harborough Town 1 St Ives Town 2 Half Time 0 – 1
Goals:
HARBOROUGH: Stephens 69,
ST IVES: Allen 8, Gyamfi 90+2
Line Ups:
HARBOROUGH: Taylor, Cooper (Arlott-John 67), Walsh, Dolman, Kennedy (capt) (Rose 46), Morris, Starkie, Morgan, O’Sullivan, Stephens, Burgess, Unused subs: Mulligan, Tsvetkov, B. Williams
ST IVES: Wilks, Creary, Smith, Meade, Abimbola (Gyamfi 83), Collard (capt), Allen (Hottor 67), Glennon, Hadi (Watkins 90+5), Dias (Makanjuola 74), Munday, Unused subs: Pereira,
Referee: Richard Morris
Cards: Yellow: HARBOROUGH: Kennedy (45+1), Morgan (85), Arlott-John (90+1) ST IVES: Abimbola (39), Creary (64), Gyamfi (90+2)
IVES SUPPORTERS MAN OF THE MATCH: Dan Wilks
Attendance: 746