PETERSFIELD TN 2, ST IVES TN 0

PETERSFIELD upset the form-book with a deserved win against second-placed St Ives Town at Love Lane.

The Rams began the day propping up the division, but neutral supporters would have struggled to work out which was the struggling side.

The fact that the visitors played most of the match with ten men greatly helped Petersfield’s cause, but they still had to use their advantage and it was a matter of plugging away until they got their two-goal reward in the second half.

St Ives were unbeaten on their travels, but Saturday’s three-hour trek from Cambridgeshire seemed to have taken its toll and they never really clicked on the sloping pitch. Ben Seymour-Shove’s dismissal for a reckless challenge on Sean Wain in the 37th minute left them with a mountain to climb.

Even so, the Saints were first to threaten. Luke Knight’s free-kick cannoned off the defensive wall and Anthony Ender punched the dropping ball ball off Danny Watson’s head at the expense of a corner.

Then Lewis Hyde made a vital interception to prevent Phil Draycott’s cross reaching Danny Watson who was in position for a tap-in.

Seymour-Shove’s last contribution was a curling free-kick that beat Ender and rebounded back into back off the post.

After almost going in front, St Ives then had three narrow escapes in the space of 90 seconds.

Howard Neighbour thought he had scored after converting a Joe Briggs cross, but the Rams’ celebrations were cut short by an assistant’s flag.

Almost from the restart, Briggs fed the ball through to Neighbour, who had timed his run perfectly. He took the ball round the advancing Tim Trebes, only to be denied by a sliding block from Steve Gentle.

The resulting corner somehow arrived at the feet of an unmarked Hyde at the far post, but the defender blazed his shot well over the top from eight yards.

A depleted St Ives got through to half-time at nil-nil and manager Ricky Marheineke sent his side out with a double substitution and a change of formation.

Four minutes in, Gentle knocked down a deep Jordan Jarrold free-kick and Chae Simons’ 15-yard shot was blocked by that man Hyde, who then charged down the same player’s follow-up effort.

Three minutes later, with the visitors temporarily down to nine men due to injury, Petersfield grabbed the lead. Alex Lowley found space out wide to deliver an excellent cross and Briggs rose above Jarrold to head home from eight yards.

With their noses in front, the Rams had a surge of confidence. Briggs’ fierce drive was tipped away by Trebes and Joe Richardson headed high from the resulting corner.

Skipper Jamie Ford forced Luca Dusi to clear off the line before Petersfield finally put the game to bed on 68 minutes.

A Lowley free-kick was missed by everyone at the near post and the ball bounced on to hit the far upright before being bundled over the line by Ford.

Briggs could have made it three after being put through by Wain, but made a hash of his attempted chip.

Playing in front of 73 spectators, it was back down to earth for the Rams who had entertained a crowd of nearly 400 in last week’s FA Cup-tie.

But this was a professional display as Petersfield secured a much-needed second win of the season and advanced three places up the league table.