St Ives Town v Redditch United

ST IVES TOWN v REDDITCH UNITED

Saturday 23 September 2023

PitchingIN Southern League Premier Division Central

Season 2023/24

OFFICIAL MATCHDAY PROGRAMME

From the Editor’s Desk

After a break of 10 days, we return to league action today as we welcome everyone from Redditch United to the Quattro-Tech Westwood Road.

This will be the second week running that Redditch have made a trip to Cambridgeshire following their FA Cup tie at Peterborough Sports last Saturday.

There was no FA Cup activity for the Ives last weekend and since our last home action we secured a point at Leiston courtesy of a 1-1 draw. The last home game against Telford should maybe have seen us get our first home win of the season, but we were denied by a late comeback from the visitors. Despite the 3-2 defeat, credit must be given to both sets of teams for producing an afternoon of excellent football in sweltering conditions.

Congratulations to both our reserve and A teams who have made excellent starts to the season. It’s early days, but both are unbeaten in their respective leagues. All the fixtures are on the website, so if you want to see them in action, then I’m sure they will appreciate your support.

Back to today, and the focus will be on the first team striving to get their first home win of the season. Both Myles Cowling and Johnny Edwards could come into contention for selection which will give everyone a massive boost given they have not seen competitive action so far this season.

Redditch have made a solid start to the season and sit ninth in the table so will be tough opponents this afternoon, but with your support the Ives will have every chance of getting an important victory.

Come on you Ives!

Andy

& Ollie

Around the League

Before the FA Cup weekend, there was a full round of midweek matches. The question on the lips of everyone is will anyone stop Mickleover? Eight wins out of eight for the Derbyshire outfit sees them sit top of the table, already eight points clear of their nearest challengers, Halesowen. The latest conquest for Mickleover came against AFC Telford United as they secured a 2-1 victory.

Halesowen move up to second following a 4-3 victory at local rivals Stourbridge. A massive attendance of 2,195 packed into the War Memorial Ground to see the Yeltz get the points. Needham Market are third after a 1-1 draw at Kettering. The Marketmen looked on course for victory but were denied by a late equaliser from the Poppies. Leamington are finding a bit of form and put four past Berkhamsted in their latest league action. Meanwhile, and despite being held to a 1-1 draw at Sudbury, Royston make up the top five.

Elsewhere, there was an eight-goal thriller between Alvechurch and Barwell as both sides played out a remarkable 4-4 draw. Stratford also scored four as they recorded a 4-2 victory at Stamford. The fourth coming eight minutes from time. Today’s opponents, Redditch lost 2-0 last time out at Coalville who move up to 11th in the table.

Nuneaton continue to struggle as they lost their latest game 3-0 at Hitchin. Meanwhile, Long Eaton couldn’t follow-up their first win of the season as they lost 1-0 at home to Bromsgrove Sporting.

Club Noticeboard

Reserves continue excellent start to the season.

St Ives Town Reserves remain unbeaten in the league having won their first four games of the season. Their latest victory came against Fenstanton last Wednesday as they recorded a 4-3 victory. The result leaves the reserves in fourth place, three points behind West Wratting reserves who have played a game more.

A Team also unbeaten

The A Team had an away match at Littleport, and their unbeaten start to the season continued with a 3-1 victory. Grabbing the headlines was Jude Sedgwick who scored all three goals for the Ives. The win sees the A Team move up to third in the Cambs League Division 2B table.

Ladies looking for first win.

Unfortunately, the Ladies crashed out of the Women’s FA Cup with defeat at Newmarket on 10 September. They are also still currently looking for their first win of the season after they lost 4-1 at home to Yaxley Phoenix last Sunday. The Ives took the lead after 10 minutes but two goals either side of half-time put Yaxley in control, and two further goals on the hour mark and a minute before the end made the game safe. There was no joy either for the Ladies second team as they lost 4-1 at home to Godmanchester. The result means that they are also looking for their first win of the season.

Day out at Newmarket Races

The football club is organising a day out at Newmarket Races on Friday 29 September, the second day of the Cambridgeshire meeting. The cost is £15.00 and includes a seat on the coach and entry to the racecourse. The coach leaves St Ives at 12noon and will return from Newmarket at 6pm. Anyone who would like to book a place or wants further details should contact Vic Moseley on 07950 756409

Commercial/Sponsorship….

The club is delighted to agree sponsorship deals with several new businesses in the local area. All sponsorship partners are listed elsewhere in the programme. If you want to get involved or know a group or a business who would like to sponsor St Ives Town FC, then please contact our Commercial Director, Mark Taylor. His email address is mark@marktaylormarketing.co.uk.

Coalville re-arranged.

The league match scheduled at Coalville next weekend has been postponed due to the involvement of the hosts in the FA Cup. A new date will be announced in due course.

Get involved….

Do you have some spare time and would like to get involved with St Ives Town Football Club? If so, the club is currently looking for volunteers in several areas. If you would like to get involved then please contact Club Chairman, Paul Reason for more details. His email is paul@rcostings.co.uk.

Matchday Mentions….

Do you have a birthday or a special occasion coming up and want an announcement on a matchday or here on the club noticeboard page of the match programme? If you do, then please get in contact with Andrew Dunn. His email address is dunnandrew@hotmail.com. Please note for mentions in the match programme there is a deadline of at least 3 days before the match.

Today’s match programme….

Apologies for the rather basic layout to the match programme today. We realise this is different to what our normal programme looks like. Hopefully normal service will resume for our next scheduled home game against Bromsgrove Sporting.

Hooky’s Groundhopping Travels

Ives Supporter Dave Hook reviews his latest games at Soham and a Portsmouth double header

5 September 23 - Soham Town Rangers v Newmarket Town - 0-1 - Eastern Counties Premier Division - Att 240

It’s only the start of September and it’s already my third visit of the season to Julius Martin Lane. There are 2 reasons for this. 1) It’s a ground that I really like. 2) I’m limiting myself this season to where I go for games on a school night. I get up at 3:30am and the simple fact is I just can’t burn the candle at both ends anymore and therefore I need to be home by 10pm at the latest to get at least 5 hours of shuteye in.

My records show that I went to the reverse game of this fixture last season (6/9/22) which resulted in a 2-1 victory for Newmarket. I must admit to not remembering a great deal about it, hence why I’ve kept a record of all the games I’ve attended over the last 15 years to help me remember games that weren’t very inspiring.

Soham haven’t had a great start to the season and are currently prop up the league table. Newmarket on the other hand have only lost 1 of their 5 league games, winning the other 4. The game played out to what the league table suggested with the Jockeys being the better side. They had more chances than Soham and it wasn’t a shock when they took the lead on 63 minutes with a decent cross in from the left and a clever finish from inside the 6-yard box. Newmarket were also awarded a penalty in the dying seconds of the game; however, it was blasted so high that the ball is probably still in orbit!

Like last season this wasn’t a great game and when I look at my records next season, I won’t remember a thing about it!

12 September 23 - Baffins Milton Rovers v Bournemouth - 1-0 - Hampshire

Senior Cup 2nd Round - Att 50

I’m down in Portsmouth for a few days and it would be rude not to take a game or two in.

This fixture is a right result in terms of where I’m staying as it’s only a 15minute walk to the ground.

Bearing in mind the club was only founded in 2011 and rose through the local leagues, the ground is a cracker. It’s right next door to the Solent and there’s

evening sailing boats in the club car park! The club house (located behind a goal) has a smart modern feel to it and there’s a standing cover and seats down one side. The other two sides are out of bounds to the public. Both clubs play in the Wessex Premier Division (step 5) and met in a league encounter 10 days previously with Baffins running out 7-0 winners. In case you are getting confused this is not AFC Bournemouth that play in the Premiership, this is Bournemouth FC who are also the older of the two clubs having formed in 1875.

I felt there was an air of complacency around the ground in that home side and their fans were expecting another big win against a side they defeated so easily just 10 days previously. To be honest their complacency, which at times ventured into arrogance, worked against them as it became apparent after a while that this was not going to happen. The only goal of the game (a superb strike from quite far out) came in about the 55th minute and whilst Baffins probably deserved their win, Bournemouth gave a very good account of themselves (no doubt having something to prove) and had chances to score. It just goes to show that just because you thrashed the same team just over a week beforehand does not guarantee that you will do the same again. As they say, “Football’s a funny old game!”

13 September 23 - Fleetlands v Horndean - 0-1 - Hampshire Senior Cup 2nd Round - Att 121

I must admit that I hadn’t heard of either side until I discovered this fixture. Fleetlands play in the Wessex League Division 1 (step 6) and have Steve Claridge as their manager. Horndean play in the Isthmian League South-East Division (step 4).

The ground is in Gosport and has the wonderful name of ‘Powder Monkey Park’ (sponsored by a local brewery of the same name). It’s apparently the only ground in the UK with a golf course and helipad. It’s pretty basic with 2 covered stands down one, a seated stand on the other, container-type changing rooms & toilets and quite a nice clubhouse.

Once the game is underway it becomes apparent that there are not 2 steps between the sides and the game is very competitive and not one way as it suggested on paper. It turns out that Horndean have made 11 changes from their previous game as they have a FA Cup tie at the weekend of which doubt they consider that to be a much more important competition.

In the 2nd half I stand down the far side and not far from a Mother and Father of the young Horndean right wing back / winger. I felt really sorry for the lad as Dad kept telling him what to do and you could tell that the player was getting really frustrated by this and it was affecting his game. I think Dad expected him to take everyone on and score a wonder goal. At one point the lad got the ball and Dad shouted at him to run with it and have a goal on goal, instead he put in a really decent cross which landed at the feet of a teammate, however Dad wasn’t happy with that. I had to walk away and watch from another vantage point after that.

The tie is settled with the only goal of the game from thunderous strike which goes in off the underside of the bar in the 58th minute. As per the previous evening Horndean were probably the better side and deserved their win. All in two very good evenings of ground hopping in the South of the country.

Introducing……Redditch United

Redditch are one of longest established football clubs in the Midlands, starting out as Redditch Town in the Birmingham Combination League in 1891 and being crowned first winners of the Worcestershire Senior Cup in 1894.

Originally known as Redditch, the club joined the Birmingham and District League in 1921. They then went on to play in the Birmingham Combination and were champions in 1953, before returning to the Birmingham and District League.

The club prospered in the 1930s and again 20 years later when they were Birmingham Combination champions in 1952 and 1955.

In 1971, United was added to the name and in November of that year, the club reached the first round of the FA Cup for the first time in their history. A record crowd of 4,500 rammed into the Valley Stadium to see the Reds draw 1-1 with Division Four side Peterborough United before losing 6-0 in the replay. During the 1970’s the club joined the Southern League and were promoted to the Premier Division at the end of the 1975-76 campaign having scored more than 100 goals in the process.

The club were founder members of the Alliance Premier League at the start of the 1979/80 but struggled against the likes of Barnet and Yeovil Town in what would eventually evolve into the Football Conference. The club then plied its trade in the Southern League for more than 20 years the highlight of which was another run to the first round of the FA Cup in 1989 before losing 3-1 to Conference side Merthyr Tydfil in front of another sell-out crowd.

The club made the headlines at the end of the 1997-98 season, playing nine games in nine days due to a backlog of fixtures brought about by the poor weather and the then grass Valley Stadium Pitch. At the end of the 2003/04 season, the Reds clinched an historic double promotion under the guidance of manager Rod Brown. Having secured the Southern League Western Division, the club then won two play-off matches to secure a place in the newly formed Conference North where they stayed for seven seasons. The Club entered financial troubles and drop from the National League North in 2011.

In 2016, the club worked with Redditch Borough Council, the FA and the Football Foundation as a £900,000 investment programme was carried out which saw a state-of-the-art 3G playing surface installed as well as substantial upgrades to changing facilities. The new-look facilities were officially opened by Sports Minister Tracey Crouch.

A full time Academy was developed which enables scholars to take part in College and University level education alongside an elite football programme. Since its formation several players have developed through the pathway to senior football at Redditch United and other local Clubs.

Redditch United become the home of England Walking Football Community hosting both their training sessions and international match days. In September the club hosted a Tournament with teams travelling from Northern Ireland, Wales, The Isle of Man and Peru.

In this year the club also suffered the devastating loss of 1st Team player Tom Rankin. A permanent memorial for Tom was unveiled the following season in their League game against Rushden & Diamonds, this is the side that Tom played his last game for United.

Ives v Redditch: Head to Head

Sat 11 Feb 2023: Redditch United 2 St Ives Town 0

Sat 24 Sept 2022: St Ives Town 1 Redditch United 2

Sat 5 March 2022: Redditch United 1 St Ives Town 0

Tues 9 Nov 2021: St Ives Town 2 Redditch United 1

Sat 17 Oct 2020: St Ives Town 3 Redditch United 1

Sat 14 Dec 2019: St Ives Town 2 Redditch United 1

Sat 28 Sept 2019: Redditch United 0 St Ives Town 1

Last time we met at Westwood Road: Sat 24 September 2022 St Ives Town 1 Redditch United 2

The Ives got themselves back into the contest courtesy of an equaliser from Enoch Andoh that cancelled out the opener from Redditch scored by Max Sheaf. Parity was only restored for 15 minutes as Lekan Osideko scored what proved to be the winning goal. Defeat for the Ives meant that they fell to their second successive home defeat of the season.

Redditch United: This season

The campaign got underway with a 2-1 victory at Bromsgrove Sporting. However, they had to wait until 19 August to collect their next points as they recorded a comfortable 4-0 victory against newly promoted AFC Sudbury. This was followed by a 2-0 victory at home to Kettering which preceded a remarkable 4-4 draw against Alvechurch. The last two league games have seen Redditch take a point off Hitchin and a 2-0 defeat at Coalville. Their FA Cup progress was halted by Peterborough Sports.

Redditch United: 2023/24 to date

Current League Position: 9th

League Goals Scored: 16

League Goals Conceded: 13 Biggest Win: 4-0 v AFC Sudbury

Redditch United: Player Profiles

Adam Harrison: Adam is a goalkeeper who joined Redditch from Worcester City in December last year. His former clubs include Bedworth and Tividale

Bradley Burton: Brad is an attacking right back who was formerly with Aston Villa and local league rivals Alvechurch

Finley Howell: Finn is currently on loan to Redditch from Solihull Moors. The young defender made his National League debut for Solihuill towards the end of last season

Gift Musa: An experienced midfielder who signed in the summer from league champions, Tamworth. The 27-year-old has also played for Coventry United, Leamington, Bromsgrove Sporting and Nuneaton.

Calum Flanagan: Calum is an experienced left back who has been with the likes of Aston Villa, Hednesford and Rushall Olympic. Calum joined Redditch in January last year from Halesowen Town.

Ryan Wollacott: Ryan is a centre back who signed in 2021 from Stourport. He has also played for Alvechurch and Aberystwyth

Musa Cessay Cessay: Musa is a left sided player who can play at either centre back or midfield and joined before the start of this season.

Reece Flanagan: Reece is a midfielder who started his career at Walsall and has also played for the likes of Leamington and Hednesford.

Danny King: Danny joined Redditch from Gloucester in November last year. He had an initial loan spell with Redditch before making the move permanent.

Alex Cameron: Alex returned for this third spell at Redditch this summer. This time on dual registration from Rushall Olympic. Alex is a striker who was part of the Rushall that gained promotion last season.

Jenson Cooper: Jenson signed on the eve of the season after impressing in the warm-up matches. The 19-year-old striker played for AFC Rushden & Diamonds last season and is a former Shrewsbury Town academy player.

AJ George: An attacking midfielder who ended last season with North Leigh. He was previously with Tamworth and Oxford City.

Liam Armstrong: Liam is a midfielder who signed during the summer from Northern Premier League Midlands outfit, Sporting Khalsa.

Lucas Yeomans: Lucas is a teenage full back who came through the academy at Derby County. He then moved to Tamworth and has had loan spells at Mickleover and Hednesford

Johnny Johnston: A young striker who signed professional terms with Blackpool at the age of 17. The 19-year-old can play centrally and out wide.

Ben Taylor: Ben is a goalkeeper who signed on the eve of the season from National Leage North side, Banbury United.

Aram Soleman: Aram is an experienced midfielder who has played at a number of clubs including Hednesford and Tamworth. He started his career at West Bromwich Albion and signed for Redditch in 2021.

Jamie Melbourne: Jamie is a left back who signed from Alvechurch this summer. He started as a youngster at Stoke City

Jaiden White: Jaiden is a recent addition to the squad. The 21-yearold forward is a former Wolves and Coventry youth player who had a spell at Stourbridge last season.

Current League Table

2023/24: Fixtures & Results

Ten to Tackle

Our popular quiz returns, and this week we test your knowledge of the Premier League from last weekend.

1. It was a late, late show for Aston Villa as they scored 98th and 101st minute goals to defeat Crystal Palace, but can you name the scorer of their first goal in the 87th minute?

2. It was another late show at White Hart Lane as Spurs beat Sheffield United. Who scored the winner for the North London side in the 100th minute?

3. Name the former Spurs players who scored the only goal for Fulham in their 1-0 victory over Luton?

4. Name the former Manchester United player who scored the opening goal for Brighton in their 3-1 victory over the Reds at Old Trafford?

5. In the same game, name the former Liverpool player who was substituted by Brighton in the second half?

6. West Ham took a first half lead against Man City only to end up losing 3-1. Who scored the only goal for the Hammers?

7. Luton are currently bottom of the Premier League table, but how many league goals have they scored so far this season?

8. Who scored the penalty for Newcastle in their 1-0 victory over Brentford?

9. Bournemouth and Chelsea played out a 0-0 draw, but what is the average attendance for the Cherries at the Vitality Stadium so far this season? Is it 10,726, 11,226 or 11.556?

10. Following that game, Chelsea fell to 14th in the table, but how many games have they won so far this season?

Ten to Tackle…..Answers

How did you get on with our matchday quiz? Here are the answers!

1. Jhon Duran

2. Dejan Kulusevski

3. Carlos Vinicius

4. Danny Welbeck

5. Adam Lallana

6. James Ward-Prowse

7. Two

8. Callum Wilson

9. 10,726

10. One

TODAY’S LEAGUE FIXTURES

A full league programme awaits this afternoon with league leaders Mickleover hosting AFC Sudbury. Here’s the full list

AFC Telford United v Needham Market

Berkhamsted v Alvechurch

Halesowen Town v Stratford Town

Hitchin Town v Barwell

Leamington v Bromsgrove Sporting

Leiston v Coalville Town

Long Eaton United v Kettering Town

Mickleover v AFC Sudbury

Nuneaton Borough v Royston Town

St Ives Town v Redditch United

Stamford v Stourbridge

The FA Cup first round proper will always be the Holy Grail for the majority of Non-League clubs. Yes, of course, the third round proper can be - and often is - the stuff of fairytales. But, for most, getting to the first round would be something talked about for years to come - especially if that ideal draw comes out.

It's not just about the finances, although they are huge and can help a club immeasurably. But it's also the profile it can bring to a small town or village, the increased interest and, ultimately, the memories for the hard-working volunteers who give their time and energy.

The dream is already on hold for another year at least for hundreds of clubs. The cards of defeat dealt while the summer evenings are still with us. For others, it inched that bit closer last weekend - and in midweek - following the second round qualifying games. The third round qualifying draw was released on Monday lunchtime with just two wins required to get into that famous first round proper hat in front of the live TV cameras. But perhaps that doesn't tell the full depth of story in the FA Cup. With so many former exFootball League clubs now in Non-League, these days the fourth round qualifying almost has the same feel of the first round proper.

Take last season when Anstey Nomads welcomed Chesterfield at that stage. Not many people at Coalville Town will forget their upset of Notts County on the same say South Shields stunned then-Step 1 Scunthorpe United and Southern League Needham Market beat Maidstone United, also plying their trade in Non-Leagues top flight at the time. Notts obviously ended up back in the Football League while Scunny and the Stones dropped down - making them big draws in these two qualifying rounds before the Step 1 clubs enter.

Maidstone travelled to Southern Combination side Steyning Town last Saturday in the second round qualifying - a huge day for the Step 5 club that may have ended in defeat, but was rewarded with a 1,000-plus gate and a will only boost the club's standing in the community As manager Kev Green told us in the build-up to the Maidstone last week, it was a day to savour for the whole club.

"We've got 400 youth players, boys and girls, a fantastic women's section," he said. "The players and staff are all getting loads of messages saying, unbelievable, well done. "I dropped a message to the chairman to say, 'You guys deserve as much praise as anyone else for this. You've put it together'. They deserve a lot of credit. Let's enjoy it."

Throw in AFC Stoneham taking on Yeovil Town, Larkhall Athletic welcoming city neighbours Bath City and Tadcaster Albion giving Chester a scare on the BBC's red button. The feelgood stories come long before the first round proper.

NEXT FIXTURES FOR THE IVES:

Tues 26 September A Needham Market: Kick-off 7:45pm

Sat 14 October: H Bromsgrove Sporting: Kick-off 3:00pm

STOP PRESS NEWS……..

Look out for: The FA Trophy 3rd Qualifying Round Draw. This will be made on Monday lunchtime and the ties will take place on Saturday 7 October.

Hunts Senior Cup: The Ives have been drawn away to Eaton Socon in the first round of the Hunts Senior Cup. The match will take place on Tuesday 31 October with a 7:45pm kick-off.

Congratulations to: Four first team players have recently reached milestones in terms of the number of appearances for the club. Ed Hottor has passed the 100 mark. Well done, Ed, and here’s hoping that there will be many more to come. Meanwhile, Johnny Herd, Jordan Williams and Charlie Johnson have all recently made 50 appearances for the club so well done to them too!

Heading to Needham Market on Tuesday Night? Here is the address of the ground

Bloomfields

Quinton Road

Needham Market

IPSWICH

IP6 8DA

Last six form guide for Needham Market going into today’s games:

WON: FOUR GOALS FOR: 12

DRAWN: TWO GOALS AGAINST: TWO

LOST: NONE LEAGUE PLACE: SECOND

TODAY’S TEAMS

MATCH OFFICIALS:

REFEREE: GARY CONNELL

ASSISTANT: MARK SIMMONS

ASSISTANT: RYAN ALLISON