Gavin Hurren says there were "more positives than negatives" as Stratford Town let slip two-goal lead in draw with St Ives Town
Stratford Town 3-3 St Ives Town
Southern Premier Central
STRATFORD Town boss Gavin Hurren admitted he was “gutted” to see his side only claim a point on Tuesday night having led 3-1 early in the second half – but he stressed there were "more positives than negatives".
The Bards had taken an 11th-minute lead at the Arden Garages Stadium through Paul McCone before Jonathan Edwards brought the visitors level midway through the first half. Andre Wright then scored his first goal since October to restore Stratford’s lead two minutes before the interval.
Eight minutes into the second half, Hurren’s men moved into a commanding 3-1 lead as Saints goalkeeper James Dadge turned Jamie Molyneux’s devilish cross into his own net.
However, just four minutes later the away side were back within one as former Town forward Nabil Shariff lashed in from close range. And 11 minutes from time St Ives rescued a point when another familiar face in Jordan Williams rose highest to send a glancing header beyond the despairing Liam O’Brien and into the far corner to ensure the match ended all-square.
The Bards have now lost just one of the last four but they remain six points adrift of safety and Hurren told the Herald it’s important the team keeps believing they can pick up important points in their remaining “cup finals”.
“I’m gutted we dropped two points but for me it’s about building that momentum in terms of getting that belief in the squad that we can pick up points,” he said.
“We may have conceded three goals but as a collective and how we played, we should have scored more than three ourselves and it’s just unfortunate that when we do switch off, we get punished. Over the course of the 90 minutes I felt we were the better team. We played some fantastic stuff and our shape was brilliant at times.
“There’s definitely more positives to take from that game than negatives and while we have dropped two points, when you look at where we were to our last four games, there has been a massive improvement.”
He added: “Every game is like a cup final and when you’re in the trenches you have to keep believing. Everyone is working hard but we’ve got to stay positive, keep grinding out results and play some nice football along the way.”
There was just the one change to the team which lost at Nuneaton Borough on Saturday, with new signing Kyle Bennett coming in for Callum Ebanks.
After a slow start to proceedings, the Bards broke the deadlock after 11 minutes in scrappy fashion. A long throw from Lewis Ludford-Ison was not dealt with by the St Ives defence and after a bit of ping-pong, McCone was there to stab in at the near post.
St Ives responded well and it was only a case of some desperate Stratford defending which kept the visitors at bay as Jesse Akubuine and then Jack Turner made crucial blocks to keep the home side’s lead intact. However, the Saints were not to be denied and in the 25th minute they restored parity.
The Bards were left fuming when Akubuine did well on the touchline to win a throw-in only to find the assistant referee flagging it in St Ives’ favour. From here the visitors pushed forward and the ball eventually made its way to Edwards who had too much space on the edge of the area and he rifled past Liam O’Brien who managed to get a hand to the effort.
The visitors then had the woodwork to thank for keeping the scores level with ten minutes of the half remaining. Andre Wright did well to get a glancing head to a long ball and while Jamie Molyneux was fouled, debutant Bennett picked up the pieces, surged forward and curled a beautiful effort towards the far corner but the ball hit the outside of the woodwork with Saints goalkeeper James Dodge beaten.
However, just two minutes before the break the Bards were back in front. Molyneux, who had been a thorn in the side of the Saints’ defence all game, beat his man and whipped a dangerous ball into the area which was only half-cleared and Wright was there to pick up the pieces and smash home.
Just six minutes after the restart the Bards moved into a 3-1. Dan Lafferty sprayed the ball out wide to Molyneux whose first-time cross was fumbled into his own net by the unfortunate James Dadge.
Four minutes later the Saints were back to within a goal of Stratford as former Bards man Shariff lashed in from close range.
St Ives smelt there were more goals in this contest and 11 minutes from time they restored parity. A cross from the left-hand side was met by Williams whose glancing header nestled into the far corner.
The Bards huffed and puffed for a late winner in the closing stages but in the end they had to settle for a point when it should have been three.
The Bards now face two away games in the space of four days, starting with a trip to high-flying Rushall Olympic on Saturday (3pm kick-off) and then the team directly above them in the table, Bedford Town, on Tuesday night (7.45pm kick-off).
STRATFORD TOWN: Liam O’Brien, Dan Lafferty, Taylor Morrison, Lewis Ludford-Ison, Paul McCone, Jack Turner, Jamie Molyneux (Aksum White 83), Jesse Akubuine (Josh Hawker 90+1), Andre Wright, Will Grocott, Kyle Bennett. Unused subs: Louis Beresford, Jaylan Wildbore.
ST IVES TOWN: James Dadge, Patrick Casey, Jonathan Herd, Callum Milne, Jordan Williams, Ben Toseland, Tyrone Baker, Charlie Johnson, Jonathan Edwards, Kellen Hickinson (Kieran Higgs 27), Nabil Shariff (Gregory Kaziboni 87). Unused sub: Ethan Johnston.
ATTENDANCE: 243
REFEREE: Richard Walker
MATCH RATING: 4/5
