Assistant boss Jack Cassidy admitted a weight has been lifted off the shoulders of St Ives Town after they collected a second Southern League Premier Division win of the season.

A Peter Clark opener and Jimmy Hartley clincher earned a 2-0 triumph for the Saints at Biggleswade Town last night.

It was a first league victory since the opening day of the campaign and was greeted by a mixture of relief and delight.

Cassidy, who took charge with manager Ricky Marheineke away, said: “We worked hard from start to finish and got the result we deserved.

“The boys were absolutely excellent to a man. It’s a win which relieves a lot of pressure.

“It’s a huge weight off our shoulders and hopefully we can now start playing with a bit of freedom again.

“I could feel the game getting tense in the final 15 minutes. My Fitbit said I’d done 10,000 steps without moving out of the technical area!”

Clark opened the scoring in the 21st minute when seizing on a poor punch from home goalkeeper Liam Gooch and steering a shot into the bottom corner.

And only the woodwork denied Saints another goal moments later as Dubi Ogbonna fired a Hartley cross against the post.

Jordan Jarrold saw a free-kick kept out by a panicking Gooch early in the second period before leading scorer Ben Seymour-Shove fired a good opportunity over the bar.

Saints did eventually seal victory with three minutes to go as Hartley beat Gooch to a long clearance from goalkeeper Jacob Marsden and curled a fine finish past recovering defender Gavin Hoyte.

The victory lifted St Ives up one place to 22nd in the Premier Division standings. Fellow locals St Neots Town dropped one place to 12th after being held to a 1-1 draw by Hitchin last night.

Dylan Williams fired the hosts ahead early in the second half at the Premier Plus Stadium, but Hitchin replied with 20 minutes to go.

Holders Eynesbury Rovers enjoyed a successful start to their Hunts Senior Cup defence last night.

Top scorer Dom Lawless hit the only goal as they beat Godmanchester Rovers 1-0 in a quarter-final clash at Hall Road.