Last quarter blitz gets Ives back on the right track

Skipper Ollie Bartlett was again a happy man after a thumping win over Stockwood Park. “Our first half performance was patchy. But, we reset our targets at half time and exceeded them by scoring six more tries, keeping them out in the process. The side is enjoying this run.”
From the kick off, Olivers Bartlett and Raine combined to win the ball. Swift hands saw Paul Ashbridge espy a gap and dart through to score.
Scoring with the first play of the match appeared to do St. Ives no favours. Immediately, Stockwood were on the attack. It must be said they were abetted by lackadaisical decision making, lacklustre defence and some average execution from the hosts for 15 minutes until they scored wide out.
The Ives kick off went straight out, but from the resulting scrum, Josh Meadows struck against the head to regain possession. Finally keeping the ball tidily, Ives swept upfield. A penalty was kicked to the corner, the lineout worked sweetly and Duncan Williams tiptoed over the line for his regular score.
The Ives were now putting some better phases of play together. Good continuity between forwards and backs saw Raine finish off a neat attack.
Concentration lapses allowed the visitors territory. A penalty was kicked to the corner and after a number of phases Stockwood sneaked over the line. This was proving to be a close contest.
As the half drew to a close, a turnover midfield was transferred to the onrushing Ashbridge, who charged upfield to score the bonus point try.
The home camp was still not a contented one during the half time break, illustrating the determination to perform at ever higher levels. Fresh goals were set for the second half, not least to up the defensive work rate.
Immediately, Ives were rewarded. Fly half general Mickey Drake spotted a gap and sprinted downfield. Great support saw the ball pinged left to the overlapping Tommy Newman who dotted down in the corner.
The remainder of the quarter was a curate’s egg of a display by the Ives. Ives defence was good and Stockwood did not look like scoring, But, at the other end of the park numerous chances went begging as the ball was spilled with the line beckoning.
Entering the last fifteen minutes, it finally clicked. Raine made a surging break in the midfield. Alongside others, Bartlett was on hand to support and add the finishing touch. The try opened the floodgates.
From a breakdown, John Naylor made a jinking run. Putting boot to ball, he grubbered to the corner where Ollie Jones gathered and completed the touch down.
From the restart Ives were back on the attack. Drake passed across the decoy run made by Ashbridge and found Tom Watts. Still with work to do, Watts crashed through the last defence and stretched for the try.
Stockwood were visibly wilting under the pressure. Ives charged upfield, leaving Ashbridge to belt through the tired defence and complete his hat trick. To the surprise of all, the easiest conversion of the ten, slipped past the post for his only miss.
The coup de grace was served when Gabriel Edwards stormed through the visitors pack from the Ives 22. Quick recycling saw Jack Blackley make a fine run, finding Albiee Tayedzerwa in close support. Another quick recycle got the ball to Drake who scampered over under the posts.
DoR Brown commented post-match, “This was a good illustration that all teams in this league can play if you let them. We had that bit of a jolt early on, but adjusted. The way we played in the last quarter was an absolute delight to witness.”