Ilkeston Line up:-

Ilkeston Town welcomed top scorer Chris Freestone back from injury as they attempted to gain their first win in four attempts. Freestone replaced Mark Nangle who has a serious knee injury that could keep him out for some time. Mark lever was another casualty and Ben Simms replaced the experienced defender.

The Robins started the game brightly and ex Robin Lee Evans had to alert to stop Aaron O'Connor from opening the scoring twice in the first few minutes. Stourport defended stoutly and then took the lead when new signing and ex Forest star Des Lyttle was left unmarked from a Ronnie Sayer corner to head the visitors into the lead after 13 minutes. Things got worse however when five minutes later Richard Ball was able to turn a defender and shoot low past the despairing dive of Paul Reece to extend Stourport's lead. Manager Charlie Bishop was reprimanded by the referee after there was a frank exchange of views on the bench.

Ilkeston continued to have the bulk of the possession but were unable to create any clear cut chances. The Robins were reduced to speculative long range efforts or high crosses which were safely gathered by Lee Evans.

Joe Atkinson replaced Ben Simms at half time but it could not Ilkeston letting in another soft goal. Richard Ball ran across the defence and he was given time to shoot. Keeper Paul Reece seemed to dive very late and Stourport were 3-0 up. Ilkeston kept plugging away however and on 57 minutes they got their first brake when Marc Laws headed home Chris Shaw's free kick with Lee Evans in no mans land. Ilkeston then started to put their their game together and for a brief spell it looked like a comeback might be possible. Marc Laws brilliantly controlled a high ball and swiveled and shot against a post. Stourport survived and apart from a series of Holyoak headers near the end Ilkeston ran out of steam and ideas.

WhiteBallProject Man of the Match - Marc Laws - After Aaron O'Connor Ilkeston's only attacking threat. A fine game in a depressing team performance.

This was depressing! Stourport are not a very good side and Ilkeston did not make them look any better we just appeared to gift them the victory. Soft goals and a serious lack of confidence make the Robins more like relegation fodder than the promotion candidates they looked only a few weeks back. Up front we look laboured with Chris Freestone going through a bad spell and probably playing despite being injured. Chris has a terrific scoring record at Ilkeston but is still constantly heckled by a few so called Ilkeston fans. In midfield Marc Laws was maginificent again but of the rest there is little physical presence. They are all neat footballers but not strong enough as a unit. The defence are lacking cohesion and being chopped and changed every game. Manager Charlie Bishop has a tough job to rebuild the players confidence before Saturday's game against Swindon Supermarine. Charlie needs to make them feel more secure so that they can overcome their performance anxiety. Failure to register points will kick start calls for yet another change of management on Saturday.

THIS POST MORTEN WAS WRITTEN BEFORE CHARLIE BISHOP'S DISMISSAL WAS ANNOUNCED ON THURSDAY