Jamie Walker gave Ilkeston an early lead via a neatly diverted penalty, before an unorthodox bicycle kick from Connor Dixon gave us a two-goal lead at the break.
The hosts’ Jeffrey Henderson saw red late in the first half, which meant for a very one-sided second, however, it was in fact Cyril Giraud that netted the only goal of the second half to confirm Morpeth’s first of the season.
Ian Deakin opted for a strong starting XI to kick-start the 2025/26 season, and that was clear in how the Robins flew out of the blocks.
Harvey Kirby-Moore had the first opportunity for the Robins after he latched on to Sam Parker’s lofted through ball and found himself one-on-one with Dan Langley; however, the shot-stopper came out on top.
Then Dixon forced Langley into a low stop moments later, again looking to pounce early on.
It was eventually Walker then netted the opener in the 25th minute. Langley wiped out Walker inside the box to allow the winger to step up to the spot and find the bottom right corner superbly.
Six minutes later, Dixon made it two with the most unorthodox bicycle kick. A sky-high ball was won by Walker against the committed Langley, and after a bounce, the midfielder scooped a low bicycle kick over the keeper and into the back of the net.
With moments to go before the half-time whistle, Henderson took too much of Kirby-Moore and pulled the forward over as last man, receiving a straight red card for his troubles.
The hosts went in at the break a man down and two goals behind, but the second half soon began with both sides eager to kick on.
Dylan Youmbi and Sam Essien combined early in the second to create a chance on goal, but this time the Morpeth defence stood firm to deny a third.
Then, in the 57th minute, Kirby-Moore did almost make it three with a close-range strike towards the near post, although Langley reacted incredibly to push the ball around the post with his fingertips.
A possession-based 25 minutes followed, with neither side putting any real pressure on either keeper.
The referee had to pause play for 5 minutes in the 84th of normal time following a head collision between Parker and Nathan Buddle, which resulted in both players being substituted.
That pause in play meant that over ten minutes of added time were played, and in just the second minute of added time, Giraud etched one back for the hosts.
The substitute latched onto a neat pass at the far post and prodded home from close, giving Dylan Wharton very little chance to react.
Ilkeston continued the pressure throughout added time, but no inroads could be made, which meant the Robins travelled back to Derbyshire with a closely contested 2-1 victory away from home and three points in the bag.