A dramatic late winner from Substitute Craig Neal sealed a tough fought 2-1 home win for Ely against Haverhill Rovers.
The visitors almost grabbed their share of the spoils just a few minutes prior to Neal’s goal, when Jordan Palmer poked the palm home for Haverhill after a scramble in Ely’s penalty area.

Both teams started way off the pace, which has become somewhat of a regular occurrence in Ely’s most recent home matches.

After a scrappy first ten minutes, Haverhill broke beyond Ely’s back line and had their first clear-cut opportunity. Ben Bradley flicked the ball onto Ryan Weaver, who somehow found himself past the left-back Jamie Alsop, with only Harry Reynolds to beat. Put under pressure by the Robins keeper, Weaver ignored several options in the middle of the box, and instead fired the ball way over.

Centre-back Tom Williams came close to bagging his third league goal of the season half an hour in. A corner from Alsop saw Williams rise high above his man, but could only steer his effort above the crossbar.

Weaver improved on his first effort come the 37th minute. Another delivery from Bradley was this time punched away by Reynolds, however the ball landed at the feet of Weaver right on the edge of the penalty area. Striking it on the half volley, it crashed off the post and wide, and both teams remained goalless at the break.

The start of the second half replicated that of the first, although both teams picked up the pace, possession was frequently being lost in the middle of the park.

With just twenty minutes to go, playmaker George Darling finally woke the game up breaking the deadlock in the process.

A cross from Matthew Simpson on the right flank met forward Alex Theobald in the middle of the area, scuffing his shot, it looked like the chance had gone begging. However, the visitors could only scramble the ball out as far as Darling, who unleashed a thunderous effort from outside the area. Haverhill keeper Charlie Turner did get a hand to it, but could only push it into the roof of his own net.

The home side’s lead was short lived to say the least. Much like Haverhill, the Robins were punished for not clearing their own lines. A goalmouth scramble eventually found its way to the feet of Palmer, whose shot just crept across the line and into the side netting. It was one a piece with just eight minutes to play.

Less than five to go. An Ely throw in was directed as far towards the Haverhill penalty area as possible, and yet again a relatively simple clearance was made to look troublesome for the away side. Slicing it out across the face of their own goal, Neal was left unmarked at the back post. He struck it hard and true, and although Turner yet again got a hand to it, the ball rifled into the back of the net.

The result meant that Ely climbed up to 15th in the Thurlow and Nunn league, moving above Haverhill in the process.

Ely: Reynolds, Jeffrey, Alsop (C), Cambridge (Hunt, 78), Williams, Littlefair, Enaro (Neal, 72), Walter, Theobald (Reed, 72), Darling, Simpson

Haverhill: Turner, Geoghegan, Gardner (Boddey, 45), Milne (Newman, 80), Holmes, Hunt, Weaver, Abbott, Jebb, Haines (Palmer, 61), Bradley