Ilkeston Line up:-

The perfect foul?	Thommo and Freestone are foiled	Jason heads for church

Rocester must have one of the prettiest grounds in the non-league world but unfortunately Ilkeston Town produced a less than pretty performance against the Midland Alliance pacesetters.

Charlie Bishop had to juggle his side with Tony Brown coming in for Mark Lever who had flu and Alex Callery replacing Mark Nangle who was unavailable due to having dual registration with Hucknall Town who do not wish him to be cup tied.

The changes enabled Chris Thompson to move up front leaving Alex Callery to play wide on the right.

In bright sunshine Ilkeston started the game in dominant fashion and for ten minutes or so Rocester were pinned back into their half. It only seemed a matter of time before Ilkeston would score but Rocester defended resolutely and the Robins were unable to create a clear cut chance. After 9 minutes Rocester however broke clear and ex Robin Richard Mitchell's shot was parried by Andy Love and McMahon netted the rebound only for the linesman to rule him off side. Rocester gained heart from this strike and Andy Love had to make a fine save from a Berks header after 15 minutes. 

After the break Rocester finally got their reward when Danny Holyoak inadvertedly deflected a right wing cross cum shot into his own goal. Ilkeston realised that they had a job on their hands and pushed forward loooking for an equaliser and After 53 minutes Tony Brown came close with a header from a Callery cross. Despite having the lion's share of the possession Ilkeston were still unable to break down a stoic Rocester rearguard. On 66 minutes manager Charlie Bishop made a double substitution bringing on Jason Westwood and Kristian Stephens in an attempt to conjure up a goal. Marc Laws had a header just over the bar and minutes later he missed an excellent when he volleyed over from a good position. Just as the game seemed to be slipping away from the Robin Danny Holyoak played a long ball down the middle and Chris Thomson muscled his way past his marker and shot past the keeper. The joy and relief of the players and the travelling fans was all too evident as Ilkeston lived to fight another day.

WhiteBallProject Man of the Match Daniel Holyoak A real captains performance. Strong and powerful at the back and recovered well from an unfortunate own goal.