STRATFORD TOWN 2-3 ST IVES TOWN: FULL MATCH REPORT...

Early & Late Show Sees Stratford’s Joy Turn To Abject Horror, As St Ives Grab The Win…

Stratford Town 2-3 St Ives Town

It was cold, mist hung about threatening to engulf the evening and a glistening of frost added a slippery final half-hour to a match which had raced into action with two goals in the opening minutes. The middle eighty minutes was a quick, often interesting, sometimes careless but generally keen and well competed section and then the final five minutes plus added time launched freezing spectators, desperate players and emotional coaches into a delirium of horror, joy, despondency and elation. Three goals were scored and just when it seemed that Will Grocott’s deflected strike would hand Stratford all three points, St Ives recovered to crack two brilliant goals and snatch a fiery victory from the greying ashes of defeat. The strikes, by midfielder Jack Bradshaw, whose right footer swerved over home ‘keeper Niall Cooper and then by wide-man Ben Seymour-Shove, whose left-booter from an angle dipped into the far corner of the net, were both stunning and made the exciting St Ives celebrations even more scintillating to witness. Stratford though must have felt like a Bard with writer’s block.

THE TAKING PLACE OF THE TOSSING OF A COIN...

The guests were forced to make a late change, with Charlie De’ath dropping to the bench and Lee Chaffey taking his place in defence and lining up alongside vociferous central defender Liam McDevitt, whose voice wouldn’t have been out of place on the stage of a pantomime and the replacement would wear the skipper’s armband too. However, the hosts attacked rapidly from the first whistle and Charlie Faulkner found himself in a position near the left byeline to shove (not Seymour-Shove) a low pass inside for Justin Marsden to flash past goalminder Tim Trebes and into the right corner of the net from the near edge of the 6 yard box. Charlie De’ath… Hmm, I used to watch Steve Death play in goals for Reading around 1969, whilst studying P.E. at Bulmershe College and his understudy was John Pratt, so the Royals had Death and Pratt as goalies, surely a firm of undertakers…

KELLY & HIS 2 MINDERS, FRANCIS & FRY...

Before the visitors could even grieve about their lax start, they had regained parity through their midfielder, Jack ‘GET IN…’ Higgs. A very deep cross from the right drifted over the Blues’ defence and Josh Darkin managed to head the ball back inside for Higgs, who rapped a fine, low drive from 12 yards through a crowd of players and just inside the near post, with ‘keeper Cooper possibly unsighted. 

HIGGS HAD BELLOWED "GET IN..."
THE REF SUGGESTS:  "GET AWAY..."

Having already conceded, Stratford looked slightly ill at ease in defence and from a deep free-kick on the right, McDevitt, falling under pressure, managed to guide the ball goalwards but Cooper dropped to smuggle the ball along the byeline and then collect it, with McDevitt’s piercing pleas for a corner being ignored by the tall referee. Liam Francis, apparently playing his 100th game for the home team, then looked a little shaky from a long booted Saints clearance and striker Danny Kelly, who worked hard for his team, drove a 23 yard shot too high. Stratford, despite the speed of their play, were not creating much but in truth, there was no real ‘target man’ to work from and much relied on the unselfish running of Marsden, plus the pacy runs of Simeon Tulloch on the right flank and Faulkner on the left and indeed, Tulloch got in a near post header from a left-side centre but the ball drifted across the face of goal.

THE ST IVES COACHING STAFF SIMPLY LOVED KALENDA'S ABILITY NOT TO KNOW WHERE TO TAKE THROWS FROM...

McDevitt won another offensive header for Saints from Higgs’ left-wing free-kick but the effort rose high and to the left of the target, before finally the hosts began to pressurise Trebes in the St Ives goal. First the custodian struggled to deal with Grocott’s right-side corner, tipping it downwards but then quickly snapping up the ball as Faulkner turned it towards the left upright. Soon afterwards Trebes fumbled a dropping Faulkner delivery from the left and Marsden fastened onto the loose ball but defender Jordan Jerrold kicked the goalbound effort clear. When Seymour-Shove lost possession in midfield, the wily and committed home midfielder Daniel Summerfield fed Marsden inside him from the right and the striker’s fine turn allowed him the space to fire a decent left-footer at goal from 18 yards but the ball flew past Trebes’ right upright.

OGBONNA DISPLAYS A RATHER SLEEK WARDROBE AT THE BLEAK DCS...

McDevitt’s voice sliced through the mist in anguish as too many long boots forward were simply offering possession back to Stratford but striker Dubi Ogbonna so nearly put his team ahead when Cooper sliced a fly-kick upwards. Ogbonna, retreating, managed to turn as Cooper scurried back towards his penalty-box, after first harassing his opponent but it was Francis who got back to nod Ogbonna’s clipped shot from 25 yards away from his goal-line, before completing the clearance. In the final meaningful action of the opening half, Darkin attempted to pass the ball to Ogbonna at the edge of the Blues’ penalty-box instead of shooting and that freed home skipper James Fry to pass to Marsden on the break, who in turn freed Tulloch centrally, only for Trebes to advance and save well with his left shoe and Jarrold cleared. 

NICE BOOTS, DUBI...

Hands were rather cold by the interval and I wished I’d taken my coffee container to the DCS but as the gloom intensified a little, the second period continued as the opening half had ended, with some speedy running and some short passes by Stratford, mostly involving Grocott, Barry Fitzharris and Summerfield and some more long passes by their guests, yet it was the visiting men in amber who fashioned the first opportunity.

Ogbonna’s industry offered a shooting chance for Kelly but the forward’s low 15 yard shot was easily saved to his left by Cooper. Tulloch was ridiculously cautioned for sticking out a foot and diverting a defensive Saints free-kick within the permitted ten yards, then Francis earned a caution, as Ogbonna went on a run. The striker was fouled but remained on his feet, the referee waved for an advantage to be played and the ball was fed to Kelly but the striker’s low shot was blocked into Darkin’s path, whose flicked effort was partially stopped by Cooper’s outstretched glove and Fry’s covering torso. The advantage had been played and I guess because a goal had not been scored, St Ives still hoped for a free-kick which they didn’t get. Francis though was eventually cautioned for his original foul on Ogbonna.

"I'M TELLIN' YOU, THEY'LL SCORE NEAR THE END & THEN WE'LL START TO PLAY..."

Stratford replaced Faulkner with Mike Taylor, St Ives replaced Ogbonna with Jared Cunniff and the guests so nearly wrecked the Stratford party by almost scoring twice. First an angled free-kick was awarded to the visitors on the left-side and Seymour-Shove’s delivery was wicked, whereby Fry and Kelly jumped at the far stick and right-back Harry O’Malley jumped to nod the ball goalwards, only for Cooper to tip it over his crossbar. The subsequent corner was touched away for a left-side flag-kick by Cooper and Kelly dipped low like a shoebill stork dropping on a lungfish but his glanced header evaded the slide by O’Malley at the right upright.

TULLOCH: RATHER RAPID...

The game rattled on, seemingly to a 1-1 draw and Marsden saw a lifted cross shot from inside-right beat Trebes but drift wide of the far post, although the Blues claimed a corner, then Fitzharris was replaced by Stratford’s Ben Stephens and Kelly was replaced by St Ives’ Scott Sinclair. An O’Malley run on the Saints’ right ended with a cross which dropped over the home cross-beam but then with around 5 minutes to play, the Blues must have thought they had won the game. Chaffey rose to head away a deep free-kick from the Stratford right but Grocott seized his opportunity to shoot, although his right-footer from 18 yards took a deflection to take it beyond Trebes’ left hand and just inside the right upright.

WITH THE SURFACE HARDENING, GROCOTT PROBABLY WISHES HE HADN'T SLID TOWARDS THE CORNER-FLAG...

IT'S 2-1 ANYWAY...

The Saints’ dugout was quietened, the Blues celebrated near a corner flag and the home fans sensed a hard fought victory, until that is, after a few moments in which the hosts didn’t take the ball into corners but attacked some more, the ball was switched by Saints from inside-left to inside-right and the unmarked industrious Bradshaw who simply rifled a 27 yard drive into the top right corner of the net, the ball swerving away from Cooper’s impressive dive. Joy on the Saints’ bench now…

OMG: IT'S BRADSHAW'S GUIDE TO RAILROADING THE OPPONENTS...
2-2 NOW...

And then the hosts almost snatched another goal from a long right-side centre, I think by the dangerous Taylor, which Stephens rose for just beyond the far post but the angle was too tough and the ball struck the outside of the vertical pole. The climax of the game was still to arrive however and what a climax it proved to be…

Higgs’ free-kick caused a real melee near the edge of the Stratford 18 yard box and as an attempted clearance was made, Cunniff stuck in a foot and the ball rolled for Seymour-Shove on the left but his lifted shot from a fairly wide angle was dramatic, for it rose, beat Cooper’s leap and dipped like a winning hammer throw in the Olympic games deep into the right side of the net. Cue crazy dancing from the Saints’ coaching staff, a dash upfield to join in by Trebes and hands on heads time for Stratford’s players…

THE SAINTS REALISE THEY'VE WON, JUST LIKE THE GAFFA PREDICTED ABOVE...

Unbelievable… The game ended almost immediately and the noisy visitors, try as they did, could not drown the theatrical voice of McDevitt, whose whoops remained in my ears, despite the efforts of Shalamar’s ‘I Can Make You Feel Good’ in my car on the way back to Solihull.

Stratford must have felt like they’d lost a cup final in added time and one could sympathise with their distress but one couldn’t help watching the victorious team’s huddle on the centre-spot at the end, whereby the joy was palpable. 

The Blues had been Seymour-Shoved off course, despite all the effort afforded by their midfielders (already alluded to) whilst both full-backs, Jean Kalenda and Guy Clark looked in some decent form. Grocott is probably the main creator for Stratford but he was effective mainly in patches and Tulloch, then later Taylor, managed a few dangerous runs whereas Marsden needed watching but St Ives coped. Their defence did so well, with Chaffey and McDevitt very strong but Higgs and Bradshaw really did battle, especially when the ball was often planted over their heads and a good deal of their work was done almost like on shuttle runs…

A fast start at the DCS and a rousing finish, from a game which was eminently watchable…

STEAM RISES...

VICTORY ENJOYED...

TEAMS:

STRATFORD TOWN:

NIALL COOPER, JEAN KALENDA, GUY CLARK, JAMES FRY (CAPT), LIAM FRANCIS, BARRY FITZHARRIS, SIMEON TULLOCH, DANIEL SUMMERFIELD, JUSTIN MARSDEN, WILL GROCOTT, CHARLIE FAULKNER.

SUBS:

MIKE TAYLOR, BEN STEPHENS, DYLAN PARKER, EDWIN AHENKORAH.

ST IVES TOWN:

TIM TREBES, HARRY O’MALLEY, JORDAN JARROLD, LEE CHAFFEY (CAPT), LIAM McDEVITT, JACK HIGGS, BEN SEYMOUR-SHOVE, JACK BRADSHAW, DUBI OGBONNA, DANNY KELLY, JOSH DARKIN.

SUBS:

MARK COULSON, CHARLIE DE’ATH, SCOTT SINCLAIR, JARED CUNNIFF.