St Ives Town v Stratford Town
Pitching-In Southern League Premier Central 25-04-2026
With both Ives and Stratford Town coming into this fixture with little more than pride to play for after a long season, there was always a possibility that this game could lack the intensity and drama of some of the matches spectators have witnessed at Quattro-tech Westwood Road this season. A standout performance from Ives keeper Ollie Taylor was the main headline from a game which saw neither side able to break the deadlock as it finished 0-0 in Ives’ final showing of the season.
Ives Manager Ricky Marheineke made three changes from the side that earned a point away at Worcester City last weekend, with Kai Source, Ben Hart and Neo Dobson being replaced in the starting line-up by Aaron Smith, Matty Miles and Amaru Kaunda.
Stratford Town Manager Paul Davis also made three changes to his side that tasted defeat against Bromsgrove Sporting, with Daniel Vann, Joshua Hawker and Henry Landers coming in to replace Paul McCone, Dan Lafferty, and Lamine Sherif.
Ives came out of the blocks with some attacking intent as they looked for an early goal. An audacious effort from Michael Richens from just inside the Stratford half caught Jake Weaver off his line, with the ball bouncing just wide of the goal inside five minutes.
Bards first chance of the game brought the first of many important saves from Taylor, who got down low to keep out Landers’ driven shot with his foot with 11 minutes on the clock.
Charlie Wragg, who looked dangerous throughout the first half, made his way into the Ives area and unleashed a strike that was tipped onto the outside of the post by Taylor on 14 minutes as the visitors began to grow into the contest.
Four minutes later it was the Stratford keeper who was called into action as some good interplay between Jernade Meade and Kaunda saw the Ives number nine bearing down on goal, only for the Bards shot stopper to come out and smother the danger.
The most notable passage of play in the opening 45 minutes, which summed up the game as a whole in truth, occurred in the 35th minute when Taylor made two superb saves to keep the scores level. First, a low-driven strike from Landers which took a deflection on the way through saw Taylor get down low to make the block. Then, as the ball was recycled back into the area, Josh Toluwaloju rose highest to nod the ball down towards goal, only for Taylor to show his sharp reflexes and palm the ball to safety from close range.
Whilst the first half had just enough incident to keep the 278 present inside Quattro-tech Westwood Road interested, the second half struggled to meet the same intensity. Clear cut chances were hard to come by for both sides as the glorious warm sunshine looked to be taking it out of those on the field.
The visitors created some decent opportunities from crosses into the box, with Toluwaloju’s glancing header flying just wide of Taylor’s left-hand post in the 52nd. Not long after that it was the turn of Kory Roberts to get on the end of a ball into the area, but his header was well-cleared off the line.
The closest Ives came to a winner was when Alexandrou made a good run into the box and was found by a cross from the right-hand side. The Ives forward tapped home from close-range, only for the linesman to raise his flag for offside.
Marheineke made an attempt to freshen things up during the second period, but having only been able to name three players on the bench for this encounter, he didn’t have a huge array of options to call upon. Neo Dobson, Reuben Wyatt and Tyrone Baker all made it onto the pitch at different stages in the second half, with Jernade Meade, Amaru Kaunda and Theo Alexandrou making way.
As the time ticked over into 90 minutes, the home side continued to fight to the end for a goal that would give the home faithful something to smile about at the end of a tough campaign. Dobson nearly provided the magic moment in the 4th minute of stoppage time, but his shot lacked the power to trouble Weaver in the Stratford goal.
Not long after that, Referee Luke Scott brought proceedings to a close as both sides had to settle for a point. Stratford end the season 11th in the table, having threatened the promotion places at one stage, but ultimately ending the campaign nine points adrift. Ives finish on 39 points from their 42 games, with their poor form at the turn of the year ultimately culminating in their relegation from Southern Premier Division Central. The challenge of Step 4 football looms, but those associated with the club will hope that their side will have the resources to be competitive in whatever division they are placed in next season and that it won’t be long before they see Step 3 football back at Quattro-tech Westwood Road.
Final Score: St Ives Town 0 Stratford Town 0 Half Time 0 – 0
Goals:
ST IVES: none
STRATFORD: none
Team Line Ups:
ST IVES: Taylor, Creary, Smith, Richens (capt), Idehen, Kaunda (Baker 84), Miles, Lawlor, Njie, Alexandrou (Wyatt 78), Meade (Dobson 67) Unused subs: none
STRATFORD: Weaver, Vann, Brennan, Hawker, Roberts, Landers, Ison (capt), Wragg, Toluwaloju, Masidi, James Subs: Lafferty, Baker, Farrell, Thompson, Sherif
Referee: Luke Scott
Cards: Yellow: ST IVES: none
STRATFORD: none
IVES SUPPORTERS MAN OF THE MATCH: Ollie Taylor
Attendance: 278
