Ely City Reserves produced a dominant performance under the lights at The Demcom to comfortably see off Isleham United with a four-goal victory, in a ruthless second-half display.

Ely started brightly and wasted little time asserting control. Early intent down the right flank paid dividends as Tom Saunderson and Rhys Mazey combined superbly, the latter’s clever flick releasing Saunderson whose cut-back caused immediate problems as Carvalho arrived late at the back post, forcing the Isleham keeper into action.

The breakthrough arrived on eight minutes. Sustained pressure resulted in a dangerous delivery into the box, where Dan Heron timed his run perfectly, ghosting in to meet the cross and head powerfully home to give Ely a deserved lead.

Ely continued to press with greater purpose. The brilliant Mazey was at the heart of everything creative, narrowly missing the far post after Carvalho’s brilliant work down the left, before later firing straight at the keeper from close range. Isleham, despite sitting deep and remaining compact, struggled to contain Ely’s movement, Robins Stopper Joe Murfitt remained largely untested in the Robins’ goal.

Just before the interval, Isleham threatened after a rare opening, but a huge sliding block from Jamie Baxter denied them an equaliser, ensuring Ely went into the break with a 1-0 advantage.

HT: Ely City Res 1 - 0 Isleham United

The second half saw Ely raise the tempo further. Heron again tested the goalkeeper early on, while Phil Turner and Mazey then linked up well down the left. Isleham did have a moment when a loose Ely pass allowed a volley that slid narrowly wide, but it proved a brief warning.

On 56 minutes, Ely doubled their lead. A recycled corner from Saunderson found Mazey, whose delicate chip to the back post was met by Baxter. His dinked cross was nodded home by Brett Irvine-Wyman, capping off another excellent team move.

Fresh legs followed, including a debut for Kristian Nyamutsaka, whose impact was immediate. On 75 minutes, fellow sub Iggy Rohloff threaded a superb through ball into his path, and the lively substitute’s pace took him clear before he was brought down in the box. Josh Townshend stepped up and calmly dispatched the penalty low into the corner to make it 3–0.

Ely remained in control, pressing high and moving the ball forward, but Murfitt was called into action late on, producing an excellent fingertip save to deny Isleham during a rare counter-attack.

Deep into stoppage time, Ely were awarded another penalty after Townshend was hauled back while trying to turn and shoot. The forward made no mistake, firing into the opposite corner to seal the scoring and cap a commanding 4-0 win.

FT: Ely City Reserves 4–0 Isleham United

Team: Murfitt, Turner, Saunderson, Carvalho, Irvine-Wyman, Baxter, J. Townshend, Harnwell, Mazey, McCabe, Heron.
Subs: Chivers, Rohloff, Nyamutsaka, Logan, Hancock.

POTM: Rhys Mazey