Ladies return to winning ways after seeing off promotion-chasing St Ives

Pelicans returned to winning ways by denting the promotion hopes of St Ives at Alive Lynnsport.The game was rearranged after being postponed back in January due to the cold snap.Ladies captain Jane Proctor said: “We worked very hard against a very strong St Ives team who were second in the table at one point and never gave up.“It was good to bounce back after a couple of tough defeats and going into the last five games of the season we’ve got every chance of securing a top-half finish in the table.”When the two sides met earlier in the season, the spoils were shared in a 2-2 draw.From the first whistle, St Ives were looking to control the pace of the game, attacking the Pelicans hard.They were rewarded by taking an early lead from a short corner.Pelicans, hampered by the loss of defender Jess Williams who took a nasty hit from a St Ives shot, refused to lay down.Attacking midfielder Daisy Nicholas took her place in the backline alongside Tracy Bower, Laura Culley-Tea and Clair Morton.A midfield masterclass from Kiona Sequeira, Bianca Fraulo Hilario and Rachel Drohan brought control of the game back to the home side.Youngster Savannah Sherry also made a great impact, with her usual runs around the opposition, much to the frustrations of the visitors.Just before the half-time whistle, centre-back Tracy Bower received a pass from Proctor, with Bower calmly slotting her shot past the visiting goalkeeper to level the scores, much to the delight of the watching crowd.Pelicans added to St Ives’ frustrations by adding a second goal through Fraulo Hilario who fired a shot home from close range.The home side looked to extend their advantage further with Brooke Harris creating an opening for Karise Sherry who was thwarted by a solid St Ives defence.Pelicans held firm in the face of some late pressure from the visitors.On Saturday, Pelicans Ladies host Cambridge City 5ths at Alive Lynnsport (12:30 PM)