St Ives began the new campaign with a close-fought defeat against recently demoted Bishops Stortford.

With new personnel and a new system, St Ives frustrated the opposition and took a deserved lead after a quickly taken free hit was finished off by Rory Mooney (pictured above). Hard work up front from Mike Jenner, Robbie Philpott and Dave Land helped keep the Stortford attacks to a minimum and St Ives took their lead into half-time.

Si Johnson was called into action more often in the second half, as the defensive unit of James Lloyd, George Richards and Ben Scarrow were put under increasing pressure. Stortford equalised after a short corner routine found its way via a number of deflections to the back post for a tap in. Ives themselves were winning a number of short corners but were unable to convert to retake the lead.

As fitness began to tell, Stortford scored again from a short corner, this time from a straight strike that found its way past the Ives keeper. Despite further chances, Ives were unable to score and ended the game frustrated at the dropped points.