SPL Premier Central
Ilkeston Town 3 (Fenton 11, Hallam 23, Lita 84)
Needham Market 3 (Hammond 20, 52, Ingram 29pen)
Leroy Lita struck his tenth goal in ten games as we fought back to draw with Suffolk side Needham Market on Saturday.
After a pulsating first-half, a more subdued second was rounded off with a dramatic finale as we came close to taking all three points.
Ultimately, however, a draw was perhaps a fair result against a side battling towards the bottom of the table.
The game came to life in the 11th minute. Jordan Hallam saw his shot tipped wide of the post by Marcus Garnham in the Market goal and from the corner, Dec Eratt-Thompson’s kick found Kieran Fenton at the far post who headed in from close range.
Henri Wilder’s cross came off the top of the bar moments later, then Mitchell Woakes shot wide, before the visitors equalised when a mix-up between our defenders outside the penalty area resulted in full-back Kyle Hammond being released into the penalty area and he slotted home past debutant keeper Harrison Foulkes.
Parity didn’t last long, as on 24 minutes Wilder’s ball into the box found Lita who knocked the ball back for Hallam to hit a sweetly-struck half volley that whistled into the corner of the net.
However, the visitors got level again in controversial circumstances on 29 minutes. Wilder was adjudged to have handled a cross in the six-yard box despite the ball appearing to strike him in the face. Luke Ingram dispatched the penalty.
Needham’s Luke Brown and Ilkeston’s Hallam saw shots go close before the break, which arrived with the teams level.
It was then the visitors who got in front on 52 minutes, as Hammond was again able to nip in round the back of the Robins defence and slot past Foulkes for his second goal.
Chances dried up a little, player-boss Jamie Ward introducing himself to the fray and shooting wide after a clever free-kick routine on 74 minutes, before the equaliser came on 84 as Eratt-Thompson got to the byline and squared across to Lita whose cheeky flick beat Garnham and found the corner of the net.
We pushed hard to win the game, Lita heading a Finn Delap cross wide and then Fenton’s powerful header from a corner beaten away by Garnham, then Hallam blasted over the bar when well-placed in stoppage time as the visitors held out for a point.
Ilkeston: Foulkes, Eratt-Thompson, Wilder, O’Malley (Patterson 90+2), Delap, Fenton, Campbell, Dixon, Lita, Hallam, Woakes (Ward 59)
Not used: Hilton, Woodward.
Needham Market: Garnham, Hammond, Dye, Williams, K Morphew, Cullum, Ingram, Collard, Brown, Brothers, Crane
Not used: D Morphew, Frimpong
Att: 614
Ref: Daniel Tracy