United Counties League Premier Division St Ives Town 1, Holbeach United 3 A DEPLETED Saints squad registered a disappointing fifth successive defeat, despite a good second half display. Holbeach scored two goals in the first 30 minutes as Saints strugg

United Counties League Premier Division

St Ives Town 1, Holbeach United 3

A DEPLETED Saints squad registered a disappointing fifth successive defeat, despite a good second half display.

Holbeach scored two goals in the first 30 minutes as Saints struggled to get into the game.

A penalty from Liam Kennett put St Ives back in the game just before half time, marking a turning-point in the the home team's performance.

The second half started well for St Ives as they played some good football on a deteriorating pitch.

Arron Bannie's penalty save after 72 minutes kept St Ives in the game but they were unable to get the equaliser and Holbeach secured the points by scoring with only a minute to play.

St Ives assistant manager Jez Hall said: "We were poor for the first 30 minutes, but we started to play and looked like getting back into the game."

"The penalty kept us in contention and we played well in the second half, but it wasn't enough," added Hall.

UCL Division One

Sileby Rangers 1, Eynesbury Rovers 2

EYNESBURY earned another valuable three points with an away win against current Division One champions Sileby.

Picking up their eighth win in 10 games, Eynesbury played some impressive attacking football to claim the Sileby scalp.

Despite Rovers applying pressure and creating chances in the first half, the game was scoreless at the interval.

Seven minutes into the second half Eynesbury made the breakthrough when Craig Smith fired home a low cross from Mark Scotcher on the right wing.

Good saves from Rangers' keeper Oliver Garofalo denied Ricky Taylor and Neil Morris soon after, while Eynesbury's Ben Houseago had little to do in goal at the other end.

Sileby persisitence paid off late in the half, however, as Adam Taylor hit the post and the cross-bar before finding the equaliser.

Eynesbury showed good spirit despite the set-back before Scotcher's shot deflected off a defender's shin to find the net and win the game for the visitors.

Rovers boss Dean Shipp was very happy with his team's performance: "We dominated in the first half and created loads of chances".

"We nearly let the game slip late in the second half, but the team showed good character and resilience to push for the win. It was a good team performance," added Shipp.

Huntingdon Town 1, Bugbrooke St Michaels 3

HUNTINGDON failed to stop the Badgers from stretching their unbeaten run of games to five, despite a dominant display of attacking football in the second half.

In a disappointing first half display, Huntingdon conceded three goals to put the visitors in the ascendancy going into the second half.

Town picked up considerably after the interval and played the better football of the two teams.

Paul Bass got the breakthrough with his 18th goal of the season from a Carl Foreman free kick after 56 minutes, giving Huntingdon hopes of a comeback.

Despite a strong second half performance from the home side, Bugbrooke took the spoils, leaving Huntingdon to rue a poor first half display.

General manager Mick Hunt said of his team's performance, "The first half was very disappointing. We weren't sharp enough against a good attacking display from Bugbrooke."

"We were dominant in the second half but left ourselves too much to do to get a result," added Hunt.

* HUNTINGDON U18s beat St Ives 3-1 to book their place in the final of the County Cup. Goals came from Daley Smith, Shane Fox and Ben Heath.