Saturday 24th February 2024 – Northern Premier League
Ilkeston Town 1-2 Radcliffe
Missed chances left Ilkeston pointless and Radcliffe 16 points clear at the top after a close encounter at the NMG. Radcliffe led by a single goal at half time but the afternoon’s most furious action came as the players left the field. when a full scale brawl broke out involving bench occupants and players of both teams. It took several minutes before order was restored and the outcome was a red card for Radcliffe’s Willem Tomlinson and Ilkeston’s Luke Cox.
Radcliffe had the ball in the net inside 3 minutes but the offside flag had been raised. Connor Dixon then had a great chance to put Ilkeston ahead but he placed his shot wide after good build up play by Ben Starkie. Next,Tom Cursons brought a diving save from Mateusz Hewelt who couldn’t hold onto the shot but managed to grab the loose ball. Matt Yates was then forced into acton at the other end pushing a shot round the post. On 29 minutes Lois Maynard put Radcliffe ahead from close range following a Nicky Adams corner. Ten minutes later there was a massive penalty appeal by Ilkeston when Lindon Meikle’s shot hit a defender’s arm but the referee rejected the appeals of most people in the ground and decided in Radcliffe’s favour. Radcliffe defender Rick Smith did well to block a Starkie effort then Cursons appeared to be sent tumbling in the area but again nothing was given.
The visitors held on to their lead until half time but within two minutes of the restart Ilkeston were level when Dixon slammed the ball into the top corner. However two minutesafter that Anthony Dudley restored Ratcliffe’s lead with a bending finish into the far corner. Jordan Hulme and Josh Hancock had shots saved by Yates as Radcliffe tried to add to their score. Then it was Ilkeston on top but Radcliffe were canny enough to see out the game. Cursons created a chance for himself but fired wide then Alex Marshall saw his effort from a tight angle saved by Hewelt. Ilkeston’s best chance to grab a point came in added time from a free kick after Cursons was brought down on the edge of the area. It was not to be though as Hewelt did really well to beat out Tom Marshall’s fierce effort.
Written by John Attewell