Ives fall to defeat at Mickleover
Mickleover 4 v St Ives Town 0
Pitching-In Northern Premier League Midlands Division 15-08-2026
Nigel Howlett reports from the Vibrant Doors Arena
Ives first away game of the season proved to be a chastening lesson from a powerful Sports side who maintained their one hundred percent start in all competitions and even this early in proceedings look genuine challengers for the honours in the Midlands Division.
However Ives did not help themselves by again giving away some soft goals starting as early as fifth minute when they failed to deal with a long ball into their box allowing Jude Taylor to nod it on for Manni Norkett to volley home spectacularly past a startled Alex Fisher.
Things could have started very differently though as only 20 seconds from the kick off Neo Dobson went down in the box under challenge from George Wilkinson, but a well placed referee Daniel McDonald was swift to wave away the visitors appeals for a penalty and the resulting corner came to nothing.
Ives initially reacted well to going behind and a clever ninth minute flick from Andy Ankrah put Dobson through the left channel but his first time effort flew harmlessly across the face of goal for what proved to be the visitors only noteworthy shot of the first period.
Theo Rowe was looking dangerous on the left for Sports and he went close to doubling the hosts advantage in 16th minute as he cut inside and unleashed a fierce rising drive from just outside the box that the agile Fisher did well to paw away as he flung himself high to his left. Ives have been caught out once already this season from their own attacking corner and they almost repeated that misdemeanour five minutes later with Rowe again the man going close as he picked up a clearance inside his own half and outpaced covering defenders before firing straight at Fisher who stood firm.
The hosts continued to probe for a second and in 38th minute Norkett go to the bye line before hanging a ball up into the box where Callum Milne won the header but his clearance fell to Josh Ashman who was bundled over just outside the box by Eze Williams. Kane Richards struck the free kick around Ives four man wall but straight into the grateful hands of the well positioned Fisher.
A good advantage by referee McDonald three minutes from the break allowed Sam Sanders to gallop away down the left. Richards went for the spectacular trying to scissor kick home his driven cross but fortunately for Ives his contact was not perfect and the ball flew wide. But just when it looked like the visitors were going to get into the break only one behind giving them chance to regroup and come out looking to get back into the game they managed to gift their opponents a second. Kai Source tried to shepherd a rolling ball back to keeper Fisher but the speedy Richards got between them and got a toe onto the ball meaning that as Fisher slid through to try and claim it he took down the Sports striker leaving referee McDonald with little choice but to award a spot kick. Norkett made no mistake from the spot finding the corner of the net past the diving Fisher.
Two substitutions and a change of formation at half time from manager Ricky Marheineke was intended to stem the tide against the visitors. The changes also gave young defender Josh Ward his first competitive taste of first team football with him replacing Williams. The second change being Mbunya Alemanji replacing left back Aaron Smith. The change to 4-3-3 also offered Alemanji’s powerful presence up front as a new challenge for the no nonsense Sports centre backs who had ruled the roost throughout the first period.
The changes were not immediately successful in changing the flow of the game and only two minutes after the restart Rowe repeated his trick of the first half cutting inside from the left and again testing Fisher forcing the keeper to leap to his left to push away another fierce drive.
That route in from the left that had proved so fruitful for the hosts in the first period continued to bring them joy and they won a second spot kick in 55th minute as Taylor wriggled his way along the bye line before being pulled back by Matty Miles. Referee McDonald didn’t hesitate to point to the spot again and Norkett completed his hat trick drilling the ball past the right hand of the diving Fisher.
With the game now dead both sides introduced more substitutes and the battling Alemanji started to get a little reward against the rugged pair of Hamza Bencherif and Dwayne Wiley. Just after the hour he managed to hold up the ball and feed it out left to Source before running onto the return ball from the young wing back and firing just over from the edge of the box.
Back up the other end Rowe continued to try his luck cutting in from the left. This time he tried guile to get past the agile Fisher but again the keeper leapt to his left to tip over a curling effort that looked destined for the top corner. But Ives then shot themselves in the foot again by gifting their hosts a fourth in 66th minute. The usually reliable Dobson tried to find Source with a cross field ball that was cut out in the centre circle by Richards who strode forward before firing high past Fisher from 25 yards to complete the scoring.
More substitutions followed with both sides introducing their full compliment with 15 minutes still to go. As time ticked away Ives went in search of what would have been no more than a consolation but the woodwork denied them even that with ten minutes to go. The busy Alemanji was again at the heart of the move battling well to win the ball off Bencherif before feeding fellow substitute Junior Varela who unleashed a screamer from 30 yards that beat Sports keeper Aaron Chapman but rattled the angle of crossbar and post.
Ives went close to that consolation twice more in the closing stages with the young substitutes again involved. Two minutes from time Archie Riordan cut inside on the right and flashed a low drive across the face of goal that only just evaded Alfie Shepherd sliding in at the back post. Keeper Chapman was finally forced into a meaningful save as Alemanji took in a Riordan ball from the right, turned on it and fired a low shot from the edge of the box that Chapman dived low to his left to keep out.
The final act of the game was perhaps fittingly at the other end of the park where Sports substitute Terry Hawkridge found space to range forward from midfield before unleashing a powerful drive that Fisher did well to keep out diving low to his left to palm the ball away.
So ended a difficult day for Ives but at least they have chance to get the result out of their system quickly as they face the prospect of a trip to Lincolnshire to face Grantham Town on Tuesday evening. With the Gingerbreads so far without a win this season. It already has the feel of a vital game.
Final Score: Mickleover 4 St Ives Town 0 Half Time 2 – 0
Goals:
MICKLEOVER: Norkett 5, 45+2 (pen), 55 (pen), Richards 66
ST IVES:
Team Line Ups:
MICKLEOVER: Chapman, Wilkinson, Sanders, Atkinson (Hickingbottom 66), Bencherif (capt), Wiley, Rowe (Hawkridge 75), Ashman, Norkett (Zoko 72), Taylor (Dales 57), Richards (J. Carter 66), Unused subs: none
ST IVES: Fisher, Miles, Smith (Alemanji 46), Williams (Ward 46), Milne, Tessler, Ankrah (Varela 69), Lawlor, Jones (capt) (Shepherd 68), Dobson (Riordan 75), Source, Unused subs: none
Referee: Daniel McDonald
Cards: Yellow: MICKLEOVER: none ST IVES: none
IVES SUPPORTERS MAN OF THE MATCH: Mbunya Alemanji
Attendance: 332
