UCL Premier DivisionSt Ives Town 3 St Neots Town 0 A CONVINCING derby victory against a young St Neots side was the perfect warm-up for Monday s Hunts Senior Cup final. St Ives joint-manager Jez Hall said he was delighted with Monday night s display at W

UCL Premier Division

St Ives Town 3 St Neots Town 0

A CONVINCING derby victory against a young St Neots side was the perfect warm-up for Monday's Hunts Senior Cup final.

St Ives joint-manager Jez Hall said he was delighted with Monday night's display at Westwood Road, which secured his side at least a sixth-placed finish.

Hall said: "We were able to field a strong side, which is some achievement considering it was our 13th game in April.

"Both Warren [joint-manager Everdell] and myself felt a top six spot was the best we could achieve given the demands on the squad."

St Ives have been facing heavy fixture congestion after reaching the last 16 of the national FA Vase competition and have endured problems with their home pitch but Hall insisted he had no regrets: "Neither of us regret our run in the Vase, which was a great adventure for us all."

Scott Fielding managed a double on Monday night and also had a hand in the other goal scored by Lloyd Howard.

The home side took the lead as early as the eighth minute when Fielding reacted quickly to stab the ball home from a goalmouth melee.

Inside 10 minutes the lead had doubled as Howard stretched out a leg at the far post to guide home a cross-shot by Fielding.

The rest of the half saw Ives largely in control but wary of the speed of the St Neots youngsters on the break as they proved a handful throughout the match.

The second half followed a similar pattern but it wasn't until two minutes from the end that the game was put beyond the reach of the visitors.

Fielding blasted a 20-yarder that wrong-footed the goalkeeper after a slight deflection and ended in the back of the net, giving him his 22nd goal of the season.

St Neots manager Marvin Johnson said: "We needed to put them on the back foot but they are a good side as the season has proved. My youngsters did make the odd mistake but they know what they need to do to put things right."

The result came on the back of a fine 1-0 win at Sleaford on Thursday and St Ives round off their league campaign with a match at home to Blackstones on Saturday.

A patched-up side produced a superb team display to come back with all three points thanks once again to Fielding, who found the net late in the game.

Blackstones visit Westwood Road on Saturday and St Ives play Yaxley on Monday in the Hunts Senior Cup Final at Jubilee Park, Huntingdon - kick-off 3pm.