RIDGEONS LEAGUE, FIRST DIVISION Ely City 1 Haverhill Rovers 1 STEVE Taylor returned to the Unwin Ground on Saturday, armed with a confident Haverhill side, fresh from their recent headline-grabbing FA Cup exploits. But after Nick Impey scored his 11th g

RIDGEONS LEAGUE, FIRST DIVISION

Ely City 1

Haverhill Rovers 1

STEVE Taylor returned to the Unwin Ground on Saturday, armed with a confident Haverhill side, fresh from their recent headline-grabbing FA Cup exploits.

But after Nick Impey scored his 11th goal of the season, it was The Robins who ended up pushing for the winner.

Taylor, the former Ely manager, who ran the team jointly with Dennis Lightning from the start of the 2004-2005 season, and left the club in acrimonious circumstances in March this year, returned - eager to prove a point with a team who went into the match just three points behind Ely with a game in hand.

The first half was a scrappy affair with a heavy pitch making it difficult for both teams.

Haverhill almost carved out an opportunity in the 30th minute when a striker sneaked in unnoticed, but Tim Cately was quick off his line to avert the danger. Catley got down well to make a good save at his near post 10 minutes later before Impey tested the Haverhill goalkeeper with a drilled shot from the edge of the area after good work from Andy Chatters on the left.

A Lee Reed penalty gave the visitors the lead two minutes into the second half after Vinnie Long committed a foul.

Ely then used the direct approach to great effect when a corner was flicked on for Impey to score with his head from inside the six-yard box.

The Robins went on to take control as the game began to open up, with both full-backs pushing forward well. Left-back Jamie Thurlbourne came close to scoring 10 minutes from the end when, after a quick turn, he curled his effort from just outside the area narrowly wide of the far post.

Ely continued to press in the closing minutes, but came away with a decent point.

Lightning said: "I've been delighted with the way we've played lately, we've had some excellent results against some very good sides. We've got another hard game on Saturday so we are going to have to keep playing at this level."

n Ely play Saffron Walden away in the league on Saturday and then King's Lynn Reserves at home in the League Cup on Tuesday night.