St Ives Town 1-1 Bishop’s Stortford Match Report
St Ives Town 1-1 Bishop’s Stortford Match Report
19/4/25
Pitching In Southern League Premier Central Division
Hamish Arnold
The 10 players of Bishop’s Stortford held onto a 1-1 draw at St Ives Town on Saturday, with the match delayed for 50 minutes due to a broken leg sustained by Zach Howell, he couldn’t be moved until an ambulance and paramedics arrived due to the severity of the injury.
There were earlier injuries to Rashawn Scott and Ryan Charles, while the suspension for Fabio Virciglio means he will miss the final game of the season away to Bromsgrove Sporting.
The Blues will confirm Step Three survival relegation with a win on Easter Monday at home against AFC Sudbury, while a draw may be enough if Redditch United or Barwell pick up three points or fewer in the next two games.
Stortford made the brighter start and went close to scoring inside two minutes when Scott beat the full and crossed from the bye-line, but Virciglio could only make contact with his chest and the ball came off the post and was cleared off the line. Amir Hadi dribbled down the right wing for the hosts on the counter, and passed to Josh Allen in the box but Elliot Krasniqi made the save. Hadi cut in off the right wing and shot, his effort was deflected but Krasniqi made the save, before a short corner was worked to the far post where Will Glennon fired over the bar. Allen dribbled into the box from midfield, but Krasniqi was once again equal to the shot. Allen took aim from the right side of the box but went high of the goal, before Scott picked out the run of Bradley Russell through the middle with a diagonal pass, who brought the ball downi and calmly slotted home from the middle of the box. Cole Dasilva’s free kick went high of the goal from 20 yards, before Luka Chalwell’s effort from further out went inches above the crossbar on the stroke of half time.
HT 1-0
Scott’s attempted through ball to Russell was cut out and fell back to the Blues winger, he dribbled into the box but fired wide with his left foot. Allen was through on goal after St Ives Town executed a perfect counter attack from a Stortford corner, and Virciglio denied a clear goalscoring opportunity with a professional found and was swiftly shown a red card. The resulting free kick was curled over the bar but the Cambridgeshire side continued toexert pressure, making the most of the numerical advantage. Hadi volleyed straight at Krasniqi from the edge of the box, and the home team thought they had found an equaliser straight from a corner kick but Russell cleared the ball off the line, before another goalmouth scramble from a long throw on the left side was hacked clear. The corner was taken short and worked to the edge of the box, substitute Habib Makanjuola made a run and was picked out by a defence splitting pass, and he finished from a tight angle to level the game. In a rare second half attack for the Blues, Presley Evans blocked a pass in the St Ives Town defence, and picked out Dasilva with a through ball, but he shot over the bar. Jernade Meade’s dipping volley went wide of the left post, before Hadi collided with Evans and Howell, with the latter suffering a broken leg in the collision. The match resumed after the stoppage for the rest of second-half injury time, with the hosts launching corners and long throws into the box, but Stortford held onto the draw to take a point.
FT 1-1
TEAMS
St Ives Town XI
1 Daniel Wilks
3 Aaron Smith
4 Jernade Meade (Yellow card 32’)
6 Alexander Collard (c)
8 William Glennon
9 Amir Hadi
10 Joshua Allen
12 Ethan Creary
14 Claudio Dias (Makanjuola 67’)
16 Peter Abimbola
17 George Munday (Gyamfi 90+2’)
Subs
5 Jordan Williams
7 Sidney Pereira
15 Edmund Hottor
18 Habib Makanjuola (Goal 79’)
20 Johnson Gyamfi
Bishop’s Stortford XI
1 Elliot Krasniqi (Yellow card 83’)
2 Cole Dasilva
5 Jake Thompson (c)
9 Nahum Melvin-Lambert (Haines 63’)
10 Bradley Russell (Goal 41’)
11 Rashawn Scott (Assist 41’)
12 Fabio Virciglio (Red card 57’)
14 Luka Chalwell
15 Ryan Charles (Forde 87’)
16 Jaden Ogwuazor
20 Zack Howell (Akinbulumo 90+57’)
Subs
3 Harry Forde
4 Mason Cook
6 Mark Haines
17 Presley Evans
19 Eyituoyo Akinbulumo
Attendance 457