St Ives Town 2-0 Hednesford Town - Report

The Pitmen were hoping to bounce back from Tuesday’s loss at Stourbridge which resulted in a 3-1 defeat despite an impressive showing in the first half. St Ives were 15th in the league table with 21 points from 16 games, with the Pitmen stranded at the foot of the table prior to kick off. Steve Burr shuffled his pack bringing in new signing Tom Hewlett and handing James McQuilkin a start at the expense of Levi Andoh and Harvey Portman.

An uneventful opening 25 minutes belied both sides urgent need for three points. Kieran Higgs finally broke the deadlock with a finish after 27 minutes to give Ives the lead leaving the Pitmen who were without an away win in the league this season, with a mountain to climb. An equaliser failed to materialise before the half time whistle, leaving the Pitmen much to think about during the break, particularly as the other sides struggling in the league, Stratford Town, Kings Langley and Rushden & Diamonds all trailing at the interval.

A stop-start second half failed to ignite, with St Ives happy to hold on to their lead, the Pitmen despite their industry and at time eye-catching football were unable to create any meaningful goal scoring opportunities. The afternoon turned grimmer for the Pitmen when second half substitute Nabil Shariff doubled St Ives' lead. There was not to be a late rally leaving the Pitmen to face the long journey home pointless and staring directly in the face of relegation.

St Ives Town; Goff, Milne, Casey, Richens (C), J Williams, Johnson, Higgs, Cowling, Edwards, D Williams (Andoh 79), Baker (Shariff 62). Subs not used; Lembikisa, Kaziboni

Hednesford Town; Brooks, Ison (C), McQuilkin, Rowe, Lowe, Redfern, Anaebonam, Parker, Lita, Hewlett, Livingstone. Subs not used; Portman, Akinwe, Bennett, Hartley, Clayton