St Ives Town V Alvechurch-Match Report
PitchingIn Southern League Premier Division Central-18-10-25
It had been just over three weeks since the Ives faithful had seen their side play a league match at the Quattro-Tech Westwood Road, but Ricky Marheineke’s men certainly made sure it was worth the wait as the home side put on a superb display to put an inform Alvechurch side to the sword on Saturday afternoon. A wonderful strike from Theo Alexandrou in the first half, and an equally impressive team goal finished off by Jernade Meade at the beginning of the second, was enough for the hosts to take all three points on the day.
There were problems for the visitors before a ball was kicked, with Church manager Tim Flowers having to make an enforced late change to his selected starting line-up. Callum Sullivan picked up an unfortunate injury in the warm up which meant he was replaced by Kieran Wakefield, who became one of only two changes from their midweek defeat to Quorn, with Nile Timson also coming into the side for Krystian Pearce.
Marheineke also made two changes from his side’s midweek defeat, with Aaron Smith and Jamal Adams being replaced by Matty Miles and Gibou Njie in the starting eleven. Worth also noting that following a period of games where he could only name four on the bench due to injury, the Ives boss has been able to name five substitutes in back to back fixtures for the first time since early September.
It was the hosts who looked sharper from the off as they looked to put Tuesday’s disappointment behind them. It took just five minutes for Ives to create a good opportunity with Michael Richens’ ball into the box being met by the head of Duncan Idehen on the penalty spot, with the defender’s effort saved comfortably by Redman Evans in the Church goal.
Ives continued to test the visitor’s backline in the early stages as the first of many Ethan Creary long throws was only partially cleared in the 10th minute, with the ball falling to Alexandrou on the edge of the area, who couldn’t get a clean enough contact to send his effort goalwards.
Four minutes later, Richens managed to produce a sublime cross-field diagonal pass which found Liam Cross on the right-hand side but Ives’ number 10 couldn’t manage to find a fitting finish as his shot flew too high to trouble Evans.
There will have been Ives supporters in the ground no doubt getting a feeling of déjà vu with seeing these opportunities go by the wayside, with Ives’ dominant second half performance in their defeat with Bury Town still on the minds of many inside the Quattro-Tech Westwood Road. However, any feeling that it could be ‘one of those days’ in front of goal were squashed moments later thanks to an individual piece of brilliance.
With 18 minutes on the clock, Ives managed to turn the ball over in midfield, with Richens picking up the ball and finding Alexandrou around 30 yards-from goal. The Ives forward took one touch and, on the half volley, unleashed an audacious lobbed effort that went beyond the reaches of Evans and into the top left-hand corner. A wonderful way to open the scoring and a deserved reward for the home side’s early dominance.
Ives will feel that they should’ve increased their advantage even more before the break as they created a couple more gilt-edged opportunity’s. First, Alexandrou was involved once again as he broke down the left before cutting inside and feeding Cross, who dragged his attempt wide from close-range. Then, in the 44th minute, it was Alexandrou himself who was put through one-on-one with the Church keeper, but he also couldn’t find the back of the net as he was denied by the oncoming Evans.
Despite not creating a huge amount of clear-cut openings in the first half, Alvechurch will feel they should’ve gone in level at the break as Nile Timson managed to get himself on the end of a corner in the 46th minute. With the goal gaping, Church’s number 19 somehow couldn’t keep his effort down and saw his attempt fly over Ollie Taylor’s crossbar.
Despite going into the break with a lead, there was still an overwhelming sense around the Quattro-Tech Westwood Road that a second goal would be necessary if Ives were to get over the line and secure their first league win since A.F.C Sudbury on the 8th of September. Their wishes were well and truly answered however as just over a minute after referee Luke Scott blew the whistle to begin the second 45, the home side doubled their advantage.
Alexandrou, who was fantastic throughout, found himself again in the thick of the action as he picked up the ball on the right-hand side of midfield. The forward then played a cute ball down the line for Cross who fired a low driven pass into the Church box that was met by Meade, who was making a late run into the area. The central midfielder provided a cool finish into Evans’ right-hand corner to make it 2-0 and send his side well on their way to a big three points.
The goal won’t have gone down well with Flowers, who made four changes between the 49th and 58th minute of the game in response. Femi Olofinjana, Thomas Conteh, Tope Obadeyi and Krystian Pearce were introduced into proceedings, with Ethan Sephton, Josh Dugmore, Kieran Wakefield and Nile Timson having to make way.
The last 30 minutes of the game saw Ives look to protect their two goal advantage, a productive and sensible strategy that has seen Marheineke’s side concede just once in their last five games at home in all competitions. Their ability to see out games of football once in front has been a feature of their play so far this season and will be hugely important if they want to achieve their goal of remaining in the division come April.
The chances on either side dried up somewhat as we neared the game’s conclusion, with the visitors trying to put Ives under pressure with balls into the box but ultimately failing to come up with much in the way of quality in the final third. A deflected effort by Storer in the 79th minute was the closest Church came to getting back into the contest, a line that sums up their afternoon of frustration.
The Ives substitutes played their part in seeing the game out, with Jamal Adams holding up the ball on several occasions, and Albie O’Keefe and Jahrel McKoy doing their best to help their side keep possession and maintain control of proceedings.
Following three minutes of stoppage time the full time whistle was blown with Ives having held on for a big three points, which takes Marheineke’s men into 12th place, only four points of the play-off places in what is currently a very congested Southern League Premier Division Central. As for Alvechurch, they have now lost back to back league games, but still occupy a spot in the division’s top five places.
Final Score: St Ives Town 2 Alvechurch 0 Half Time 1 – 0
Goals:
ST IVES: Alexandrou 18, Meade 46
Alvechurch:
Team Line Ups:
ST IVES: Taylor, Creary, Richens, Williams, Idehen, Hadi (Adams 67), Cross (O’Keefe 80), Miles, Njie (McKoy 73), Alexandrou , Meade
Unused Subs: Smith, Shepherd
Alvechurch: Evans, Dugmore (Conteh 53), Sephton (Olofinjana 49), Storer, Willis, Tattum, Ngandu, Merrett, Wakefield (Obadeyi 58), Bavanganga, Timson (Pearce 58)
Unused Subs: None
Referee: Luke Scott
Cards: Yellow: Alvechurch: (Tope Obadeyi 68)
IVES SUPPORTERS MAN OF THE MATCH: Theo Alexandrou
Attendance: 263
