Match Report
Quorn v St Ives Town
Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central 29-11-2025
Four defeats in a row have knocked Ives off track after their best start to a season at step 3 in ten years. But there were some real green shoots on view in this game with Liam Cross and George Munday both impressing for 45 minutes as they continue their roads to recovery after their respective injuries.
The high-flying Reds capitalised on two defensive errors by Ives to seize control of the game and despite a Cross’s well taken goal just after the half hour and a dominant second half display Ives were unable to find an elusive equaliser and a spectacular late overhead kick from Luke Cox put the icing on the host’s cake.
The opening goal in fifth minute must be put down to poor defending as Ryan Beswick’s low free kick from the right was dummied at the near post and bundled home off the knee of Dennis Digie coming in behind him without an Ives player able to intervene. The hosts went close to a second five minutes later as Simeon Cobourne outmuscled Kellan Hickinson inside the box and fired over from a narrow angle.
Young Alfie Shepherd in only his second start for Ives was looking confident and causing a few problems down the left. He came close to claiming an equaliser in thirteenth minute as he picked up a ball across the box from Cross and turned inside his man before curling in a shot from the edge of the box that was destined for the corner of the net before covering defender Cox headed it around the post.
Ives keeper Ollie Taylor was forced into a diving save in 24th minute as Dee Master ran at Ives defence before feeding the ball out to Finn O’Boyle who cut inside Matty Miles and fired a low shot that skimmed across the 3G surface forcing Taylor to hurl himself low to his left to palm the ball away.
Two minutes later it was the turn of Taylor’s opposite number Adam Harrison to hurl himself across his goal to keep out a fierce shot skimming off the surface. This effort was a well struck snapshot from fully 30 yards by Jernade Meade.
The Reds had shown their pace in attack on a few occasions, but Ives had been clever in timing their step ups to catch attackers offside up until the 29th minute when they got it wrong. Cobourne was the man to capitalise as he ran clear onto Beswick’s threaded through ball and comfortably beat Taylor to double the host’s lead.
But that two goal cushion was only short lived as Ives bounced back in style. Initially keeper Harrison made a hash of a 30 yard effort from Michael Richens conceding a corner. He didn’t really do a lot better with Kellan Hickinson’s in-swinging flag kick only pushing the ball back into play. Jordan Williams was first to the loose ball heading it back into the mix where Cross was first to react volleying home into the roof of the net from eight yards.
Ives pushed for an equaliser before the break but the closest that they came was Cross turning on a ball on the edge of the box to force a diving save out of Harrison who this time held on well.
Manager Ricky Marheineke made two changes at half time, one of them at least a planned move, with fit again George Munday replacing Cross to give each of the recovering players 45 minutes. The second change saw Gibou Njie replace Kellan Hickenson to give a bit more rigidity in the centre of the park.
It did not take long for Ives to start to threaten as with the second period only 40 seconds old Tyrone Baker, who was now operating on the left, got past Silvio Bello only to be hauled down by the struggling defender. Shepherd’s perfectly flighted free kick looked like it was going to be won in the air by Duncan Idehen only for Reds skipper Mason Frizelle to do just enough to deflect the ball off the head of the Ives centre back at the back post.
The visitors came within inches of pulling level and setting up a barnstorming second half only four minutes later. Munday battled well to win possession high up the park and fed the ball to Baker cutting in from the left. The speedy striker outpaced a defender before letting fly with a curler from the edge of the box that keeper Harrison could only admire as it curled past him and bounced over off the crossbar.
Ives continued to press and Idehen should have scored in 56th minute when he rose completely unchallenged six yards out to get on the end of Shepherd’s in-swinging corner. But instead of the net bulging the ball flashed wide of Harrison’s right hand post with the relieved keeper looking on.
The visitors continued to probe with Shepherd causing problems on the right and Baker on the left both aided and abetted by the busy Munday battling through the middle. But despite enjoying a lot of possession and looking threatening Ives struggled to test keeper Harrison. The keeper had to make one diving save to keep out Richens 72nd minute long range effort and this time he did well to cling onto the fizzing ball.
But as Ives looked to push more men forward they were always likely to be susceptible to a speedy Reds break. However the third goal for the hosts when it came, arrived from another free kick delivered into their box by Beswick. A scramble ensued and a header at the back post was initially cleared off the line by Williams but the ball dropped to Cox who finished in spectacular fashion with a perfectly executed overhead kick to take the “goal of the game” accolade away from Cross.
To give them their due even with the game now gone from their grasp Ives did not give up battling and they went close to pulling another one back twice in 89th minute. Initially Richens fed in Munday through the right channel. The big striker’s goal bound effort deflected wide off the knee of Cox. From the resulting corner substitute Ethan Creary challenged Harrison preventing the keeper from claiming the ball and Idehen stooped to head the loose ball wide.
The visitors were unable to create further opportunities in the added five minutes and the points moved the upwardly mobile Reds into the play-off places whilst Ives slip down to 15th in a tight middle of the table. Whilst they still sit ten points above the drop zone an upturn in fortunes will be necessary before long. Those green shoots certainly hint that may be coming very soon.
Final Score: Quorn 3 St Ives Town 1 Half Time 2 – 1
Goals:
QUORN: Digie 5, Cobourne 29, Cox 84
ST IVES: Cross 31
Team Line Ups:
QUORN: Harrison, Bello, Master, Cox, Frizelle (capt), Digie (Abari 61), Goodson, Beswick, Cobourne (Samuels 78), Burgess (Tetlow 75), O’Boyle, Unused subs: Smith, Kee
ST IVES: Taylor, Richens (capt), Williams, Idehen, Shepherd, Baker, Cross (Munday 46), Hickenson (Njie 46), Miles (Creary 80), Smith, Meade (Forde 87), Unused subs: none
Referee: David Constable
Cards: Yellow: QUORN: none ST IVES: Williams (45), Meade (51)
IVES SUPPORTERS MAN OF THE MATCH: Alfie Shepherd
Attendance: 257