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SEASON 2022-23  

Following our promotion from the Step 4 Northern Premier League Midlands Division, Ilkeston announced their list of retained and released players.   

Retained :
Kieran Fenton
Billy Bennett, 
Jared Bird
Jack Thomas
Dan Bradley
Charlie Wakefield
Ollie Brown-Hill
Zak Goodson
Remaye Campbell
Alex Troke
Montel Gibson 

Released :
Adam Chapman
Charlie Jemson
Tommy Williams
Stern Irvine
Aman Verma
James Carvell
Jack Rogers
James Reid
Joe Maguire
Ross Durrant    

On 11th May our first new signing was revealed to be central defender, Marshall Willock from Stamford. There was much speculation as to which Step 3 league we would be placed in. When Ilkeston were previously at playing at Step 3 we were in the Northern Premier League Premier Division but on 12th May 2022 the FA published their League Allocations and Ilkeston was placed in the Southern League Premier Central. So the direction of travel would be South and we would have several new grounds to go to.  Ilkeston announced the following seven signings to strengthen the playing squad:

Marshall Willock (central defender) from Stamford
Ben O’Hanlon (left back) from Stourbridge
Chris O’Grady (striker) previously with Bolton Wanderers
Kalern Thomas (right back) from Coalville
Saul Deeney (goalkeeper) from Coalville
Tomasz Bukowski (goalkeeper) from Coalville
Jamie Ward  (forward) from Buxton
Ben Turner (central defender) from Buxton 

It was decided to make season tickets available and by 10th June, 127 had been taken up by supporters. Also on 10th June the club announced a huge sponsorship deal with Microlise that would bring in a six figure sum over two years. 
Pre-season friendly results:
Sat 2 July Carlton Town (H)  lost 0-2
Sat 9 July  Melton Town  (H)  won 4-1  Bird, Goodson, Gibson 2
Wed 13 July  Heanor  Town (A)  won 4-2  Campbell (pen), Gibson, Troke (pen), Trialist
Sat 16 July  Kimberley MW  (A)  won 3-2  Gibson hat-trick
Wed 20 July  Shepshed Dynamo (H)  draw 0-0
Sat 23 July  Hinckley LR (A) won 1-0  Gibson
Tue 26 July  Boston United (H)  won 3-2  Gibson hat-trick
Sat 30 July  Belper Town (H)  lost 0-1    

AUGUST 2022 
On 28 July, Bet365 installed Ilkeston as 9/4 favourites to win the league.The first match of the season was at Tamworth who decided to segregate the Ilkeston fans. It was goalless until the 86th minute when Kalern Thomas powered in a header from a corner. It seemed like we had snatched the points but Tamworth equalised 3 minutes later in controversial circumstances. Saul Deeney appeared to have the ball in his hands when he was  clattered by a Tamworth forward who then put the loose ball in the net. The expected free kick didn’t come and the goal stood and the points were shared.
The Ilkeston supporters coach was stoned as they were leaving the ground. Two windows were smashed.
Injuries before and during the match caused our owners to bring in a new centre back. On 9th August it was announced that we had signed centre back Liam Daly from Kettering. Next up on 13th August we played our first home game with Leiston. the visitors. The UK was experiencing a second heatwave and the game was played in soaring temperatures. Montel Gibson gave us a half time lead but Leiston found an equaliser after the break. Zak Goodson scored what looked like an 89th minute winner but Leiston levelled again in added time. So only two points from our opening two games but the season’s start would get worse when we lost 2-1 at Barwell on the Monday night. Despite having more of the play we went two behind. Goodson pulled one back but Barwell hung on to take the points. Next up was Redditch United at home on 20th August. The day before the match it was announced that we had signed highly rated 20 year old former Sheffield Wednesday defender Declan Eratt-Thompson. The Redditch match failed to give us our first win. We fell behind early on but Jamie Ward produced an outstanding equaliser. Ben O’Hanlon received a red card in the second half and we had to settle for a point. The draw for the first qualifying round of the FA Cup was made on Monday 22nd August and we were paired with Matlock Town at Causeway Lane. Before then we were away to Rushden and Diamonds on Saturday 27th and home to Mickleover on August Bank Holiday Monday. Both Ikeston and Rushden were without a win and it remained that way after a 1-1 draw. Ilkeston had the better of the first half but it was Rushden who took the lead just before the break. We levelled in the second half through Gibson and should have had a penalty when a Rushden defender handled on the goal line but it wasn’t given. Two days later we played Mickleover at home and found ourselves three goals behind and outplayed. We got one back through Marshall Willock twenty minutes from time and the game changed. Gibson hit a 25 yarder into the top corner and Mickleover  who had dominated the game for 70 minutes were suddenly hanging on. However we’d left our recovery too late so couldn’t find a leveller. It was our worst performance of the season and many fans expressed their displeasure.  On 30th August it was announced that Zak Goodson had left the club for an undisclosed fee to join Altrincham. Shortly afterward we announced that we had signed Dempsey Arlott-John from Shepshed Dynamo as a replacement. This was followed by the signing of former Ilkeston favourite Joe Wilson from Gainsborough Trinity. The following day it was announced that Tom Solanke had joined us on loan from Boston United.         


SEPTEMBER 2022 
Next up was the Matlock FA Cup game. Wilson and Solanke would be available but Arlott-John was not due to being cup tied. Despite Ilkeston’s poor start support remained strong and the Supporters Group filled an 80 seater coach for the game.The cup tie was Ilkeston’s first win. Matlock had the better chances in the first half but failed to take them. the second half saw Ilkeston play much better and goals by Gibson and Campbell gave us a 2-0 win.  Despite the win; on 6th September the Club decided that time was up for Martin Carruthers and Wayne Hallcro. Jamie Ward and Ben Turner were installed as caretaker managers. The match against St Ives was postponed following the death of the Her Majesty, the Queen. Tuesday 17th September we visited the league leaders Coalville Town and produced our best performance and a 4-1 win. The following Saturday we met Anstey Nomads in the FA Cup 2nd qualifying round. It ended 1-1 with a replay needed on Tuesday night. The replay finished 2-2 after 90 minutes and 3-3 after extra time so the tie was decided by a penalty shootout which Anstey won 5-4. Owner Dave Hilton was impressed enough with Ward and Turner to give them the job on a permanent basis. Ward then brought in goalkeeper Ollie Battersby on loan from Grimsby. Ben O’Hanlon sustained a long term injury in the first Anstey match and Reece Hutchinson was brought in on a three month loan from Cheltenham Town.The 120 minutes played in the replay took it’s toll when we visited Bedford the following Saturday. The players looked tired and we trailed 1-0 at half time. We did better in the second half and goals by O’Grady and Solanke put us ahead but Bedford levelled in added time.  It was then announced that leading scorer Montel Gibson had moved to Telford United on loan. On the Tuesday night we entertained Stratford Town. This was a game of quality football where both teams played well. Ilkeston were approaching their best but after a goalless first half it was Stratford who who took the lead on the hour. Ilkeston responded quickly and two goals in three minutes gave us a much needed first home win. Dempsey Arlott-John scored the winner after an own goal equaliser.  

Southern League Premier Central as at 30 September 2022

                                        P   W   D   L    F    A    GD    Points  
  1 Tamworth                      9    6    2   1   25  12    +13    20 
  2 Nuneaton Borough       9    6    2   1   20    9    +11     20 
  3 Coalville Town              9    6    1   2   28   13   +15    19 
  4 Needham Market         9    5    1   3   16    7     +9     16 
  5 Leiston                          9    4    3   2   18  14     +4     15 
  6 Redditch United            9    4    2   3   15  12     +3     14 
  7 Basford United              9    4    2   3   10  12     -2      14 
  8 St Ives Town                 9    4    1   4    19  14    +5     13 
  9 Bromsgrove Sporting    9    4    1   4    14  15     -1     13
10 Statford Town               9    3    4   2    13  14     -1     13
11 Kings Langley                9    3    3    3   11  14     -3     12
12 Royston Town                9    3    3    3   17   21    -4     12
13 Hitchin Town                  9    3    3    3     7   11     -4     12
14 Ilkeston Town               9    2    5    2   16  14     +2     11
15 Mickleover                      9    3    2   4    17   20    -3     11
16 Alvechurch                      9    3    2   4    14   17    -3    11
17 Rushall Olympic              9    3    2   4    13   16    -3    11
18 Bedford Town                  9    3    2   4    13   22    -9    11
19 Barwell                            9    2    3   4    13   15    -2      9
20 Stourbridge                     9    1    4   4     9   15     -6      7
21 Rushden & Diamonds     9    1    2   6     6    20   -14     5
22 Hednesford Town            9    0    2   7     7    14     -7     2     


OCTOBER 2022  
Sat 1st October we had no match because our scheduled opponents Needham Market were playing in the FA Cup, As a result of other teams playing we slipped from 14th to 18th. Tuesday 4th Oct we played our re-arranged match against St Ives Town. It didn’t go to plan and we lost 3-2. We did well to come from behind twice but St Ives took the points with a last minute winner.  O’Grady and Ward were our scorers. Saturday 8th October we visited Coalville in the FA Trophy. Ilkeston included new signing Miles Mercury. There was a problem before the game when the referee decided that both teams couldn’t play in black shorts and Ilkeston had to borrow a set of blue shorts from Coalville. The two sides were level until the final ten minutes when Coalville went 2-1 ahead. The hosts then had two penalties, one of which was saved by Battersby before Coalville finally finished 4-1 winners. Dempsey Arlott-John scored our goal. Tuesday 11th October we were back in league action when we visited Rushall Olympic. Another new loan signing was on the team sheet, that of Finn Delap from Burton Albion. If we thought things couldn’t get worse we were wrong. We lost 2-0 and had two players sent off. Marshall Willock received two yellows in the first half and Dempsey Arlott-John received a straight red in the second half. Jamie Ward was understandably very disappointed and angry after the game.  What we hoped would be a promotion chasing season was starting to look like a fight to avoid relegation. Friday 14th October it was announced that Montel Gibson was returning from Telford United where he was on loan and could be available or the Royston Town away match the next day. The supporters coach was full for the 110 mile trip as we looked to halt a run of three consecutive defeats but were to be disappointed when Gibson was not in the squad. Despite this we earned a much needed three points. After a goalless first half Kieran Fenton headed us in front and Chris O’Grady added a second. Royston pulled one back with a penalty but we held on for the win.The following day it was announced that Reco Fyfe had rejoined the club from Long Eaton. Who can forget his hat-trick in the final game of the 2018-19 season against Loughborough University that clinched our promotion from the Midland Football League. On Friday 21st October two more new signings were announced, 32 year old winger, Tope Obadeyi and 19 year old central defender Harrison Solomon on loan from Derby County. Saturday 22nd October we were at home to Bromsgrove Sporting and this would be followed by two further home games giving us an opportunity to improve our position in the league.  The Bromsgrove game went well and we won 3-1. Chris O’Grady was man of the match as he scored twice and made the other for Remaye Campbell. On 24 October the club announced a squad update that showed Marshall Willock had left, Tom Solanke had been recalled by Boston and Ollie Brown-Hill had been loaned to Stamford. It also showed that James Jepson had joined the club as a coach. Next up on Tuesday night we played Stourbridge at home and it all went wrong as we performed poorly and lost 2-0. We ended October in 13th position four points off the playoffs and two points off a relegation position.        

NOVEMBER 2022 
On Friday November 4th the Club announced another loan signing, that of Lamine Kaba Sherif from Peterborough Sports.  Saturday 5th November 2022 we were home to Hitchin Town and Sherif made his debut. After falling behind we came back to win 3-1 with two late goals. Gibson scored a first half equaliser and Fenton and Campbell scored near the end.  There then followed a big week of comings and goings. On Wednesday 9th November it was announced the Reece Hutchinson had been recalled by Cheltenham and we had signed a replacement left back, Henri Wilder, from Alfreton, also on loan. The following day Tyree Wilson ex-Derby County player joined the club. It was also announced that assistant manager Ben Turner had left to join Forest Green Rovers as first team coach. Next up was a visit to 2nd in the table, Nuneaton Borough. Although Ilkeston had more possession throughout the match we couldn’t score and Nuneaton won the game by 2-0. Saturday 19th November we were home to Barwell who we had beaten us earlier in the season. This time we won by 2-0 and our first half performance was our most dominant to date. Despite our dominance we only scored one goal but it was a cracker and a first goal for Declan Eratt-Thompson. The second half was much more even and we ran out 2-0 winners following another stunning goal by Montel Gibson. The final match in November was another home game and our owners made it free admission.  Over 1100 turned up to see us beat Kings Langley by 3-0. Dan Bradley scored his first goal for the club and Remaye Campbell scored the other two. On 28 November it was announced that Montel Gibson had gone back to Telford United. 

 League Table as at 30 November 2022 

                                          P   W   D   L    F    A    GD    Points  
  1 Tamworth                    19   11   5   3   42  22    +20    38
  2 Leiston                        17   11   4   2   44  20    +22    37 
  3 Nuneaton Borough     19   10   6   3   32  20    +12    36 
  4  Rushall Olympic        19     9   5   5   32  23    +  9    32 
  5 Coalville Town            16     9   4   3   42  22    +20    31 
  6 Mickleover                  19     9   3   7   40  38    +  2    30 
  7 Hitchin Town               21     8   6   7   27  32     -  5    30 
  8 Redditch United          18     8   4   6   30   25   +  5    28 
  9 Bromsgrove Sporting  19     8   3   8   33   38    -  5    27
10 Ilkeston Town            18     7   5   6   31   26    + 5    26
11 Basford                        17     7   5   5   23   23      0     26
12 St Ives                         17     7   3   7   32   27   +  5    24
13 Stourbridge                 18     6   6   6   27   24    + 3    24
14 Barwell                        18     6   5   7   28   32    -  4    23
15 Royston Town              19     6   5   8   32   42   -10     23   
16 Needham Market         16     6   4   6   24   18   + 6     22
17 Bedford Town               20     6   3  11  28   45   -17     21
18 Stratford Town              18     4   7   7   26   37   -11    19
19 Kings Langley               19     4   4  11  20   37   -17    16
20 Alvechurch                    12     4   3   5   19   20   -  1    15
21 Rushden & Diamonds   20    3    3  14  18   48   -30    12
22 Hednesford Town          19    1    5  13   21  32    -11     8   


DECEMBER 2022
December 1st revealed that Ilkeston had signed experienced Lee Tomlin as a player coach. Tomlin came with vast experience in the professional game, particularly at Championship level with Peterborough United, Cardiff City, Bristol City, Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest. He had over 500 professional appearances to his name and had scored 122 goals. Tomlin was available for the next match which was against Redditch United away on 3rd December with a 12 30pm kickoff. It turned out to be a wonderful Ilkeston performance and a 4-1 win with Tomlin scoring on his debut. A Remaye Campbell penalty and a first goal for Finn Delap gave us a 2-0 interval lead. Kieran Fenton and Lee Tomlin put us four up before Redditch scored a late consolation. The three points lifted us to 8th in the table and the performance was such that optimism was high for our visit to Alfreton Town in the Derbyshire Senior Cup the following Tuesday. We were beaten 6-1 but the scoreline didn’t reflect the way we played. Alfreton took their chances including three goals in a five minute spell in the second half. Tyree Wilson scored our equaliser in the first half. Saturday 10 December was the big match against league leaders, Tamworth. It didn’t go to plan and we were beaten 2-0. We were one of only six matches played, the others being postponed due to frozen pitches. On Saturday 17th December we were scheduled to play Alvechurch away on their grass pitch but due to the freezing temperatures forecast for that date, we contacted Alvechurch to see if they would consider playing the game at Ilkeston as there was much less chance of the game being postponed. David Hilton said the game would be free admission and Alvechurch agreed. The return match on 1st April (originally Ilkeston’s home game) would now be played at Alvechurch. The decision turned out t be a good one as our match was one of the few matches that was not postponed as the freezing temperatures continued. Alvechurch dominated the first half but failed to take the chances that came their way. Ilkeston made them pay by scoring two early goals in the second half through O’Grady and Tomlin. A third goal by Arlott-John in added time made it look like a comfortable win and a confidence booster for the upcoming Boxing Day match against local rivals Basford. Henri Wilder’s first half red card made life really difficult for Ilkeston but we grabbed a late equaliser through Remaye Campbell and took a point in a 1-1 draw. So 2022 ended with Ilkeston in 7th place.  


 League Table as at 31 December 2022 
                                   
                                      P    W   D   L   F    A    +/-   Pts
1   Tamworth                 23  14   6    3  53  25  +28   48
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2   Nuneaton Borough  23  13   6   4   41  26  +15   45
3   Leiston                     21  13   5   3   51  25  +26   44
4   Rushall Olympic      23  12   5   6   39  26   +13   41
5   Coalville                  19  10   5   4   46  27   +19   35
------------------------------------------------------------------------
6   Mickleover              22  10   4   8   46  44    +2    34
7   Ilkeston Town        22    9   6   7   39  30    +9    33
8   Redditch United      22    9   6   7   38  34    +4    33
9   Hitchin Town           24    9   6   9   32  39     -7    33
10 Bromsgrove Sport  22    9   4   9   36  41     -5    31
11 Basford United       21    8   6   7   27  28     -1    30
12 Bedford Town         23   8   4  11   38  49   -11    28
13 St Ives Town           20   8   3   9    34  31   +3    27
14 Royston Town         22   7   6   9    36  46  -10    27
15 Needham Market    20   7   5   8    27  23   +4    26
16 Stourbridge             20   6   8   6    28  25    +3   26
17 Barwell                    21   7   5   9    34  38    -4    26
18 Alvechurch              16    6   4   6    28  28    0    22
------------------------------------------------------------------------
19 Kings Langley         23    6   4  13   25  42  -17   22
20 Stratford Town         21   4   7  10   28  47  -19   19
21 Hednesford Town    23   2   6  15   24  37  -13   12
22 Rushden & Diam     23   3   3  17   20  59  -39   12 


JANUARY 2023  
On 7th January we played Rushden & Diamonds at home and produced really good performance, winning the game by 3-1 with goals by  Campbell, Tomlin and Fenton. On the 9th February it was announce that Saul Deeney had joined former manager Martin Carruthers at Matlock Town. Four days later, on Friday 13th January, the Club announced three new signings. The big one was ex-Premier League  player Leroy Lita from Hednesford. Also signing was goalkeeper Rhys Davies from Boston to replace Ollie Battersby who had been recalled by Grimsby. Finally, Henri Wilder’s loan from Alfreton was made permanent. The Kings Langley away match on 14th January was called off due to a waterlogged pitch and this was followed by the Hednesford away match on Tuesday 17th January being postponed due to a frozen pitch. We were away to St Ives on 21st January and this match survived the cold weather because they had a 3G pitch. Lita and Davies made their debuts. After going two up with a Campbell brace we conceded two second half goals and two points were dropped. 
On 24th January there was the seismic Club Announcement that David Hilton had resigned his position as Chairman of Ilkeston Town FC and a few days later that he had bought Scunthorpe United. Andrew Nally was to remain at Ilkeston and be the next Chairman. Andy’s first match at the helm was the home game against Coalville. It was a game that we felt we had to win if we were to be able to make play-off challenge. Just before half time Coalville’s keeper was bizarrely sent off for a homophobic remark to one of his own players. Leroy Lita put Ilkeston ahead in the second half and it looked like we would get the win that we needed but it all went wrong. Coalville defended well against a barrage of Ilkeston attacks and sneaked an equaliser ten minutes from time. Ilkeston frantically tried to make amends but It was Coalville who snatched a 96th minute winner and we ended with no points at all and our chances of making the playoffs were now hanging by a thread. On Tuesday 31st January we made the 3.5 hour trip to 3rd in the table, Leiston, setting off at 12 30  for a 7 45 pm kickoff. We led by a Leroy Lita penalty but as on the Saturday before we lost the game in added time. We arrived back in Ilkeston at 3am the following day. So of the seven matches scheduled for January, two were postponed, and of the five we played. we managed just one win, two draws and lost twice, a very disappointing return which ended any ambition to reach the playoffs. At the end of January we had slipped down the league table to 10th .       

FEBRUARY 2023  
First up in February was Stratford Town away. The result was a disappointing 1-1 draw with Jack Thomas scoring our goal. Following that poor performance it was announced on Thursday 9th February that Dempsey Arlott-John, Dan Bradley and Chris O’Grady had left the club. With many players injured or unavailable for the next match Ilkeston announced six new signings; goalkeeper Callum Hiddleston, Connor Dixon, Mitchell Woakes, Lloyd Patterson plus two from Scunthorpe, Mason O’Malley and Jordan Hallam.All six were on the team sheet for the match against Bedford, three in the starting lineup and three on the bench. The match started badly as we conceded a goal in the first minute, then went two behind on 13 minutes. But the second half saw us score three goals in ten minutes to win the game. Henri, Wilder, Leroy Lita and Joe Wilson scored the goals which ended a four match winless run. Next up was a long trip to Needham Market. We came from behind to win with a hat-trick from Leroy Lita. The striker had now scored six goals in six games since his arrival. 
Lita games and goals:
21 Jan  St Ives   (a)      -
28 Jan  Coalville  (h)    1
31 Jan  Leiston  (a)      1
04 Feb  Stratford  (a)   -
11 Feb  Bedford (h)     1
18 Feb  Needham (a)  3 
The midweek game between Tamworth and Nuneaton Borough was abandoned due to crowd trouble sparking speculation that we could be back in the playoffs race if points deductions were made. The following Saturday we were at home to Rushall Olympic who were in one of the playoff positions and realistically the only team we had any chance of catching. Anything other than a win would end that possibility. We led by a goal at half time through Lita but Rushall equalised in the second half so despite playing well,we only got a draw. Next up was Hednesford away on Tuesday night. We should have won but again we only managed a draw. We fell behind, then went 2-1 up before conceding an equaliser. Lita and Fenton scored our goals.That was the final match for February. We were unbeaten in the month but the three draws meant six points dropped and our outside chance of getting into the playoffs had gone. We also learned that big signing Lee Tomlin had left the club,    


 League Table as at 28 February 2023 

    
                                  P   W   D    L   F   A     +/-    Pts
1Tamworth                33  21   7    5   77  34   43    70
---------------------------------------------------------------------
2Leiston                    31  18   9    4   70  38   32    63
3Nuneaton Borough 31  18   8    5   51  31   20    62
4Coalville                 28  18   6    4   66  30   36    60
5Rushall Olympic     32  18   6    8   59  39   20    60
--------------------------------------------------------------------
6Micklover                32  15   6  11   60  54     6    51
7Ilkeston Town       32  12  11   9   57  45   12    47
8Redditch United     31  13   7  11   50  47     3    46
9Stourbridge            30  11  12   7   47  33    14   45
10Royston Town      32  12   8  12   50  60  -10   44
11Hitchin Town        34  11  11  12   42  54  -12   44
12St Ives Town        33  11   7   15   53  56   -3   40
13Bromsgrove Sp    31  11   7   13   44  51   -7   40
14Barwell                31  10   9   12   47  51   -4   39
15Basford United     31  10   9   12  40  47    -7   39
16Alvechurch           28  10   6   12  43  47    -4   36
17Needham Market 29  10   5   14  35  35     0   35
18Kings Langley      32    9   6   17  34  54  -20   33
--------------------------------------------------------------------
19Stratford Town      31    7  10  14  45  63  -18   31
20Bedford Town       33    8    6  19  49  73  -24   30
21Hednesford Town 34    4    9  21  37  64  -27   21
22Rushden & Diam  31    4    3  24  24  74  -50   15   


MARCH 2023
On Saturday 4th March we were away to Bromsgrove Sporting and made it six games unbeaten. We were twice behind in the first half but goals by Campbell and Hallam saw us go in level at 2-2. Lita scored the winner for us in the second half. On 6th March it was revealed that Alex Troke, who had been out with a long term injury, had joined Carlton Town. Three days later the club announced that on loan goalkeeper Callum Hiddleston had been recalled by Sheffield United and Derby County’s Harrison Foulkes was brought in as another on-loan replacement. Thursday saw heavy snow fall in Ilkeston two days before our home game against Needham Market but it cleared and the game went ahead. Needham were fighting to pull away from the relegation zone and gave us a good game. we were twice ahead in the first half through Fenton and Hallam but twice Needham equalised. In the second half Needham went ahead and held out until five minutes from time when Lita levelled the score. We then went very close winning the match but Needham clung on for a point. After the game we heard that former Ilkeston Town manager Mark Clifford had been sacked by Basford following a 4-0  home defeat. Next up for us was another home game against the team one place and one point below us, Royston Town. There was much speculation at this time about which league we would be in next season. Most people were suggesting that we were likely to be moved to the Northern Premier. This assumption being based on the teams looking likely to be promoted and relegated. Against Royston Town we dominated the first half but could only score one goal, a penalty by Lita. After the restart we found ourselves 3-1 down when Royston scored three times in 15 minutes. Errat-Thompson  pulled one back with a screamer then Lita equalised. Like the previous Saturday we tried hard to find a winner but again it finished 3-3. We were now unbeaten in eight games, 3 wins and 5 draws and Leroy Lita had now equalled Elliot Reeves’s feat of scoring in seven consecutive games. This was  followed by three consecutive away matches. The first was against Stourbridge who had beaten us 2-0 at the NMG in October. Before the match, another loan signing, Triston Bennett joined us from Burton. It was generally thought that our unbeaten run may come to an end but it didn’t. Kieran Fenton gave us a half time lead but Stourbridge played much better after the restart and put our defence under some pressure. We held out until to 85th minute when the Glassboys levelled but we surprised them by scoring a winner on 90 minutes through Remaye Campbell. Two days later on Monday evening we travelled to Kings Langley who were in a relegation battle. Jamie Ward put us ahead with a goal of the season contender but Kings equalised soon afterwards. Leroy Lita gave us the lead again just before half time and after a goalless second half, it was another 2-1 win. We ended March in 6th position, one point above Mickleover, but they had played two games less than us.  


APRIL 2023
So we went into the final month of the season on a ten match unbeaten run (5 wins and 5 draws). We had five matches to play but our first opponents, Alvechurch had 8 matches to pull in before final match day on 22nd April. So despite a very wet pitch, the match was played. Loan players, Dixon and Hallam had returned to their parent clubs leaving us with a weakened squad. On a more positive note it was announced that we had recalled Ollie Brown-Hill from Stamford. We scored first against Alvechurch though Remaye Campbell but our unbeaten run came to an end with the Church scoring twice in the second half. It was a final match for Finn Delap who was recalled after the game by Burton Albion. Next up was the penultimate home game of the season against already relegated Hednesford. Declan Errat-Thompson took the number 5 shirt and in came Tyree Wilson although not fully match fit. We suffered an early blow when Ollie Brown-Hill was sent off and had to play three quarters of the game one player short. Despite this we went ahead through Leroy Lita and Kieran Fenton made it two just before half time. Hednesford pressed in the second half but we defended well and Fenton scored again ten minutes from time. Hednesford got one back a minute from time but we scored again through Lloyd Patterson to make the final score 4-1. Easter Monday we made the short journey to Basford and lost 2-1. Campbell scored our goal from the spot and he was sent off in added time after receiving a second yellow card. The final home game was against Nuneaton Borough, one of the teams in the playoffs. We were down to bare bones and only had one outfield sub but we surprised them by making a great start and going two up through Leroy Lita and Tristan Bennett. Nuneaton levelled by half time though and scored a second half winner after Harrison Foulkes had earlier saved a penalty. So the final match was away to Hitchin Town and two full buses of supporters made the journey. Again we were short of available players and had to play with a very understrength side and no substitutes so inevitably it was a third consecutive defeat. A late penalty by Leroy Lita gave the score some respectability after we had conceded three goals but before the end there was an unfortunate incident where two of our supporters invaded the pitch causing the game to be stopped.
Despite losing our last three matches we finished 7th. Tamworth won the league on goal difference after Coalville threw away the six point lead they had two weeks before the end of the season.              

Final League Table :  22nd April 2023   
                                 P   W    D    L   F    A    +/-   Pts  
 C  Tamworth         42   27    8    7   93   40   53   89
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  2  Coalville           42   27    8    7   92   42   50   89
  3  Leiston             42   24   13   5   84   47   37   85
  4  Nuneaton         42   23   10   9   67   45   22   79
  5  Rushall             42   22    7  13   71   52   19   73
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  6  Mickleover        42   22   6   14   82   66   16   72
  7 Ilkeston Town  42   16  13  13   79   66   13   61
  8 Barwell              42   17  10  15   69   63     6   61
  9 Redditch Utd     42   18    7  17   57   59    -2   61
10 Stourbridge       42   15  14  13   69   56   13   59
11Alvechurch         42   17    8  17   63   65    -2   59
12 Hitchin Town     42   16   11  15  52   60    -8   59
13 Royston Town   42   15   10  17  63   73  -10   55
14 Stratford Town  42   13   13  16  58   70  -12   52
15 Basford             42   14   10  18  49   62  -13   52
16 St Ives Town     42   14    8   20  64   72   -8   50
17Needham Mkt    42   13    9   20  46   54   -8   48
18 Bromsgrove Sp 42   13    9   20  58   78 -20   48
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 R Kings Langley    42   10   9   23  45   69  -24   39
 R Hednesford        42    7  10   25  45   76  -31   31
 R Rushden & D     42    8    7   27  40   87  -47   31
 R Bedford Town    42    8    6   28  49   93  -44   30