Ilkeston Line up:-

1. Turner

2. Knowles 4. Swinscoe 5. Lever 3. Jervis

7. Hindley 8. Johnson 6. Walshe  11. Eshelby

 9. Stant  10. Evans

15. Thompson for Turner 73 mins

14. Laws for Eshelby 78 mins

12. Holyoak for Lever 78 mins  

Subs not used 16. Aaron O'Connor and 17. Joe Atkinson

Yellow Cards none

Red Cards none

Debuts none

Ilkeston Town looked to extend their unbeaten run in the league by restoring Andy Evans and Phil Stant to lead the attack and bringing back Liam Walshe in midfield and David Jervis in defence. Tuesday's Man of the Match Aaron O'Connor was sidelined due to a knee injury.

Ilkeston started brightly and Paul Eshelby had shot well saved by the Bedworth keeper Gary Hateley. The visitors should have taken the lead on 18 minutes when James Wood was put clear however Ross Turner was quick off his line and made an excellent save.

Ilkeston however took the lead on 31 minutes when Ryan Hindey's corner was powerfully met by Mark Lever. The Robins almost made it two when Andy Evans came close.

Bedworth still posed a threat and Ross Turner was called on to make another exclellent save from Lee Moore before Paul Eshelby broke through and scored with looked like an excellent goal only for referee Mr Grundy to judge that he had handled the ball.

After the break the visitors were still looking dangerous until Ilkeston got their second goal on 57 minutes when Phil Stant cleverly crossed for Craig Swinscoe to head home from close range.

Any hopes of a Bedworth revival were effectively dashed when Martin Crowley was bizarrely sent off after 69 minutes. Ilkeston's physio Rich Barnes came on to treat Steve Johnson and Crowley appeared to hamper Barnes has he tried to administer first aid. Then Crowley took a water bottle out of the physio's bag and squirted him with the bottle. He was squirted back and then Crowley aimed a kick at the physio. After several minutes confusion the referee consulted his linesman and had no option but to show Crowley a red card. Crowley made himself look even more ridiculous by making his way to the Ilkeston dugout to have another go at Rich Barnes. 

The game then became very scrappy and when Ross Turner had to go off with a shoulder injury and Phil Stant took over in goal there was an unreal air about proceedings. Phil Stant did an excellent job between the posts although the now dispirited Bedworth players rarely tested him.

Ilkeston could have made it 3-0 in the closing minutes but for an excellent double save by Gary Hateley from Chris Thompson and Marc Laws.

  WhiteBallProject Man of the Match - Ross Turner - Made two match winning saves in the first half and then bravely played on for half an hour with a shoulder injury. Just pipped Craig Swinscoe who had an excellent game at the back and scored a rare goal.

In many ways Ilkeston did not play as well today as they did against Matlock Town when they lost 3-0. In truth however Bedworth United are not a good side at the moment and their manager ex Robin Mark Hallam has a big job on his hands turning them into a successful side. 

Many fans were puzzled by the inclusion of Phil Stant and Andy Evans up front and through much of the game it seemed apparent that they were too much alike in style to form a successful partnership. It was revealed at the end of the game that Aaron O'Connor had a knee injury but he did appear on the teamsheet and he was changed up until at least half time.

This strange occurrence was not the only surreal happening in the game and Martin Crowley's dismissal must go down has one of the most bizarre ever and probably a first at this level. Phil Stant then had to don the keeper's gloves to replace the injured Ross Turner and did not have a shot to save but looked a natural with goal kicks.Then there is the heating. The players started to get changed in the old changing rooms then the heating was made to work so they moved everything over to the Clocktower complex. However at full time it was revealed that although the hot water was working the cold wasn't so the players had to for the second time transport all their belongings back across the pitch so that they could shower without being scolded.

So the game was scrappy and not full of flowing football but for a number of odd reasons it was full of incident which goes to prove there is rarely a dull moment when your following Ilkeston Town Football Club.