ST IVES rounded off a winning week by inflicting Cogenhoe United s first defeat in six games. The visitors made it four consecutive wins when Lloyd Howard fired them ahead with just 13 minutes remaining for a narrow win. St Ives co-manager Warren Everdel

ST IVES rounded off a winning week by inflicting Cogenhoe United's first defeat in six games.

The visitors made it four consecutive wins when Lloyd Howard fired them ahead with just 13 minutes remaining for a narrow win.

St Ives co-manager Warren Everdell said: "They are a good side and the game needed something special to win it and we got a fantastic goal. Their goalkeeper had a great game but there was nothing that he could do about that one.

"We had other chances and controlled most of the game so it was a deserved win. They were playing for time in the first half so for the home team to be doing that really is strange.

"They wanted to go in 0-0 at half time and even in the second half they seemed quite happy with a draw. We wanted the win and we've done everything that we could to get it so it was thoroughly deserved."

St Ives' have won 12 of their last 15 games, and after two-successive defeats they have revived their promotion push with their recent good form. With seven games remaining, including five at Westwood Road, Ives are nine points adrift of league leaders Newport Pagnell Town and second-placed Deeping Rangers with one and four games in hand over each respectively in a tightly packed table.

Everdell said: "Since that hiccough we have been very good and right now we just want to finish as high as possible, all we can do is keep winning and see what others do. We need other teams to slip up but we can't rely on them so right now we're just taking it one game at a time.

"We will try to use the games in hand to our advantage but right now we are just looking at each game as it comes. We want to win every game and the boys have been doing well on the pitch so hopefully that form will continue."

St Ives next play Stotfold in the League Cup semi-final tomorrow (Tuesday) before they travel to Deeping Rangers on Saturday, the only side that can double them.