"Bucks prepare to face the Ives in March"

Match Date : March 1st, 2025 3:00 pm
Competition : Southern League Premier Central
Ground : Quattro-Tech Westwood Road, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE27 6DT
Kick Off : 15:00

The Bucks head to Cambridgeshire this weekend to take on St Ives Town.

The Ives are one of the division’s more mercurial sides. Last season they won 18 and lost 18 of their 40 league games en route to a 9th place finish, which was the Cambridgeshire club’s highest ever finish. A similar pattern is playing out again this campaign, with Town having won 11 and lost 15 of 31 Southern League matches so far. The usually boom or bust side have, though, drawn their last four games in a row – as many as they drew in the whole of last season.

Notably, St Ives had the division’s best attack last season, scoring 87 goals, although that came with the 4th-worst defence, conceding 72. Ricky Marheineke’s side have been less prolific this year, due in part to the lost star man Jonny Edwards, who joined Kettering Town in October, and talented young attacker Theo Alexandrou, who departed for Dorking Wanderers. However, Edwards’ replacement, Josh Allen, has hit 10 league goals this season (five each for AFC Sudbury and St Ives), while Town have recently brought impressive Kettering young attacker Luca Miller in on loan.

Marheineke, who is now in his eleventh season in charge at Westwood Road having been appointed in the summer of 2014, also made a number of summer signings in a bid to strengthen his team’s defence. Keeper Dan Wilks (Billericay), right back Benjamin Mensah (Rushall) and centre back Alex Collard (Bedford) have all arrived and now play regular roles for the Ives.

Town are currently 15th, but they have picked up good points against promotion-chasing Stamford and Leiston in two of their recent outings. What’s more, the Ives are much better on home soil than they are on the road, picking up 25 of their 39 points at Westwood Road.

It won’t be an easy ride for the Bucks, then, although Wilkin’s men have won all three of the games that they’ve played against the Ives. A late winner from Montel Gibson saw the Bucks run out 3-2 winners at Westwood Road last season, while Wilkin’s men were comfortable 3-1 winners when the sides met at the SEAH Stadium in November.

The Bucks are six unbeaten but haven’t won in three on the road. Wilkin’s men will be looking to set that record straight by picking up all three points this Saturday.

MATCHDAY INFORMATION

Website: www.stivestownfc.co.uk

Ground Address: Quattro-Tech Westwood Road, St Ives, Cambridgeshire, PE27 6DT