Premier Division
Blackstones 3 St Ives Town 1
Tuesday, 04 December 2007
Victory in this close contest at Lincoln Road saw Stones go to the top of the Premier Division.
A lively opening saw Blackstones take an eleventh minute lead when Phil Stebbing headed home from Kevin Ainslie's free kick.
St Ives produced a carbon copy equaliser seven minutes later, Simon Claridge scoring from Liam Kennett's kick.
Blackstones almost regained the lead with a powerful Richard Jones header from Dan Cotton's free kick just too high, but the home side had a let off when Kennett scooped over a right wing cross from Graeme Thackray with the goal gaping.
Carl Mackney just managed to tip a Ross Watson shot onto the bar but a minute before the break Watson had better fortune, scoring with an angled shot after the visiting defence failed to clear Paul Sheehan's long ball forward.
Stones almost went further in front at the start of the second half when a speedy break by Stebbing set up Luke Kennedy whose header seemed goalbound until Dan Newman's goalline intervention.
Thereafter St Ives piled on the pressure with Watson clearing Claridge's header off the line and Sheehan likewise thwarting Newman from Kennett's free kick.
A clever pass from Barry Albone played in Scott Fielding but he blazed over with just Ian Flavell to beat.
In stoppage time Will Fordham was denied an equaliser by the post and the Saints' wastefulness was punished in the third minute of time added on. Stebbing broke quickly from the halfway line before feeding substitute Nathan Steele who confidently slipped the ball past the advancing Mackney.
Blackstones: Ian Flavell, Robbie Blowers, Trevor Smith (Ross Nicholls), Paul Sheehan, Richard Jones, Ross Watson, Dan Cotton, Luke Kennedy (Andy Boome), Liam Harrold (Nathan Steele), Phil Stebbing, Kevin Ainslie.
St Ives: Carl Mackney, Jason King, Craig Smith, Dan Newman, Will Fordham, Simon Claridge (Dan Pilsworth), Ian Fovargue, Barry Albone (Max Francis-Johnson), Liam Kennett, Scott Fielding, Graeme Thackray (Lloyd Howard).