St Ives Town Football Club have vanquished all relegation fears by confirming their place in the Southern League Premier Division Central for next season following a 2-0 win against Bedford Town.

After two fantastic Easter performances and results, Ives only needed a point in their last home fixture of the season against an already doomed Eagles to mathematically secure safety.

The Hunts Post: St Ives' victory means they have extended their winning run to three games.St Ives' victory means they have extended their winning run to three games. (Image: Louise Thompson)

The visitors have not won a single match in 2023, and Ives further compounded their misery with a comfortable victory, never really having to get out of second gear.

The contest was slightly soured when Ives manager Ricky Marheineke was sent to the stands and a melee resulted in a red card for Bedford's Edward Gyamfi.

The two unexpected flashpoints punctuated an otherwise quiet first period when before the opening goal, Marheineke was sent to the stands for venting his anger at the referee over his decision to book Michael Richens.

READ MORE: St Ives snap winless streak to propel themselves away from relegation places

The Hunts Post: Edwards coolly fires in the opener from the penalty spot.Edwards coolly fires in the opener from the penalty spot. (Image: Louise Thompson)

Undeterred, St Ives opened the scoring shortly after the dismissal on the 30-minute mark through a Jonny Edwards penalty.

Edwards picked himself up to fire home after he had been upended inside the box by Ben Tomkins as he burst through onto Greg Kaziboni's perfectly weighted clip over the top.

The second dismissal arrived just before the break when a foul on Kaziboni by George Thorne resulted in a melee that ended with Bedford's Gyamfi receiving his marching orders for grabbing Charlie Johnson around the neck.

With the visitors in complete disarray, Johnson claimed the second to kill them off twelve minutes after the restart as he bundled in Johnny Herd's in-swinging corner at the back post.

Ives comfortably saw out the remaining time with Edwards and Kaziboni twice going close to increasing their advantage, with Eagles extending their unwanted run of nine games without scoring a goal.

For their last league game of the season, St Ives will travel to promotion-chasing Nuneaton Borough on Saturday, April 22, keen to cause an upset.

St Ives Town: Dadge, Casey, Herd, Richens (capt) (sub Hottor, 61'), J. Williams, Fox, Kaziboni, Har'is (sub Cowling, 69'), Edwards, Johnson, An'oh (sub Shariff, 85'), Unused subs: Toseland