Ilkeston Line up:-

Old rivals Heanor Town made their first ever appearance at the New Manor Ground hoping to cause an upset in the Derbyshire Senior Cup. To stop them Ilkeston Town boss Phil Stant experimented with three centre backs with the full backs Craig Swinscoe and David Jervis acting as wing backs. However few Ilkeston fans could have believed how the game would go.

1-0 3 mins Michael Lyons picks up a loose ball and expertly fires the ball home to give the Robins a dream start.

2-0 5 mins Marc Laws is brought down in the box and Paul Hurrell (pictured left) coolly slots home the penalty sending the keeper the wrong way.

3-0 10 mins Marc Laws wins the ball in midfield beats a number of players before playing a delightful ball through to Chris Freestone who chips the ball over the keeper.

4-0 19 mins Paul Hurrell slotted the ball after the Heanor defence misjudged a Chris Freestone long ball.

5-0 45 mins Chris Freestone scores after being played through for a one on one with the keeper.

6-0 57 mins Chris Freestone scores with an easy chance after a flowing passing move by Ilkeston.

6-1 60 mins Ray Sharp chips Ross Turner after an excellent run to Heanor some hope.

7-1 68 mins Chris Freestone scores his fourth goal after latching on to a loose ball and driving the ball home.

7-2 79 mins Chris Henson gets another goal back for Heanor Town.

8-2 88 mins Paul Hurrell scores his third after scoring with an explosive volley from a long cross field ball by David Jervis.

WhiteBallProject Man of the Match - Chris Freestone - Difficult to give to anyone else despite some excellent performances but four for the second time in a month is no mean feat. Well done Chris!

What a performance! Yes Heanor Town are in the Central Midlands League but they are near the top and they are one of the stronger sides at that level. Ilkeston Town showed no mercy as they tore the Heanor defence apart with four goals in the first nineteen minutes. Marc Laws did himself no harm by showing Phil Stant what he can do given the right circumstances and Paul Hurrell will be very pleased with his first hat trick for the Robins. However the star of the show was once again Chris Freestone (pictured left) whose four goals made in 33 goals in total for Ilkeston and 26 in 44 games in 2003. Chris may not be everyone's favourite player but boy can he score goals.

John Burns and Micheal Lyons were far too classy for the Heanor midfield and at the back the experiment of playing three centre backs worked a treat. Heanor only looked threatening after Tony Brown came off and the Robins reverted to 4-4-2.

It will be interesting to see what team manager Phil Stant picks against Evesham United. He has Liam Walshe, Graham Lewis, Paul Eshelby, Aaron O'Connor and Kristian Stephens all looking for a place in the starting line up.

It is a game Ilkeston will be expected to win and it is a game they will have to win if they are going to be real candidates for the coveted top seven spot