Saturday 23rd March 2024 – Pitching In Northern a Premier League
Guiseley AFC 1-2 Ilkeston Town
A goal in each half by Tom Cursons was enough to give Ilkeston a victory which avenged a 4-1 defeat at the NMG earlier in the season and put a dent in Guiseley’s playoff hopes.
The swirling wind caused problems but both sides produced early chances. Cursons had an opportunity for Ilkeston at the far post but put his shot into the side netting. Ilkeston then had a penalty shout rejected when Cursons was put through by Connor Dixon before going down in the area under challenge. On 13 minutes Guiseley looked sure to score when Gabriel Johnson burst though. His shot was followed up by Kallan Murphy but Larell King got back to make a brilliant goal line block and saw the ball deflect safely into Matt Yates’s hands. Another chance came Guiseley’s way when Prince Ekpolo fired over after Yates had pushed away the original shot. On 24 minutes Tom Marshall was penalised for a foul on Murphy in the area. Leading scorer Johnson stepped up to take the penalty but saw his effort come back off the crossbar. Guiseley were made to pay for the miss as Ilkeston went straight down the other end to take the lead through a smart Cursons finish. There was a fierce response from Guiseley and Murphy had a chance but was off target before Jameel Ible scored an equaliser on 34 minutes when a corner wasn’t cleared. Guiseley bossed the remainder off the first half but the teams went in level.
After an even restart Guiseley gradually got on top and Ilkeston had to defend. Yates saved brilliantly from Liam Tongue then Jonathan Wafula back defending, produced an outstanding tackle inside Ilkeston’s area to deny Guiseley a real scoring opportunity. On 68 minutes Guiseley were really unlucky when a cross shot by Tongue hit the inside of the far post and rebounded into Yates’s hands. As in the first half, Guiseley’s misfortune was made worse when Cursons restored Ilkeston’s lead two minutes later.
Guiseley retaliated with fury but Ilkeston had another chance from a free kick in a central position which Tom Marshall fired wide. Guiseley continued to press but Ilkeston were defending for their lives and Yates was equal to everything thrown at him. In added time both sides created an opportunity. Murphy fired over for Guiseley and Ilkeston debutant Jaden White had a chance to make it 3-1 but saw his effort go the wrong side of the post.
After the game Ilkeston manager Ian Deakin praised his team’s resilient performance while Guiseley manager Andy Welsh rued the chances missed in the first half.
Written by – John Attewell