Ilkeston team
1 Ross Durrant, 2 Fabian Smith, 3 Kieran Fenton, 4 Danny Racchi, 5 Chris Robertson, 6 Dean Freeman, 7 Richard Whyman, 8 Ryan Campbell-Gordon, 9 Kieran Wells, 10 Reco Fufe, 11 Jamie Walker.
Subs : 12 Kole Lambert, GK Richard Stainsby, 15 Jermain Hollis, 16 Alex Marshall, 13 Thomas Marshall.

Carlton team :
1Jack Steggles, 2 Dan Brown, 3 Dan Fletcher, 4 Martin Ball, 5 Toby Moore, 6 Tom Maddison, 7 Dan Elliot, 8 Oliver Clarke, 9 Arron Opoku, 1o Neil Davie, 11 Tyler Johal.
Subs : 12 Eli Bako. 14 Oliver Robinson, 15 Morn Akains, 16 Daryll Thomas, 13/18 Kam Wilson.

Last edited by Matchman (26/12/2019 2:51 PM)

Durrant saves header from Carlton corner. Walkers cross is too hard as Ilkeston hit back. Carlton keeper in trouble from strong back pass but he manages to clear.          0-0      5 minutes

Freeman throw in causes danger forCarlton. Ball goes agonisingly across Carlton goal line off a Carlton defender but its only corner. Chance for Robertson but he can't react quick enough.   GOAL   Kieran Wells fabulous header            1-0      18 minutes

Steggles does well to punch clear under pressure. ILKESTON'S MAIN THREAT IS FROM THROW INS. Now its a corner by Racchi but its cleared           1-0       32 minutes

Ilkeston fans are very unhappy at the penalty decision.   Carlton score again     1-2     38 minutes 

Back now and its  :  Ilkeston 2 Carlton 3  Freemn scored Ilkeston's second goal. Big Ilkeston penalty appeal. but its turned down          2-3     54 minutes.

Last edited by Matchman (26/12/2019 4:09 PM)

Great block by Robertson. Moores glancing header goes wide. Wells almost through. Foul on Reco ;  Elliot  booked . Hollis and alex marshall on replacing Campbell Gordon and Reco.       2-3    65 minutes

Last edited by Matchman (26/12/2019 4:23 PM)

Carlton's high line is catching Ilkeston offside too often.    Walker replaced by Lambert.        2-4     73 minutes

Carlton's 4th goal seems to have deflated Ilkeston whose forwards can't make any headway. Good save by Durrant as Carlton threaten on the counter.       2-4     80 minutes

Ilkeston free kick 30 yards out.  Only just too high by Fenton.    90 minutes are up

I think the time has come to accept that finishing in the playoffs is now very unlikely. We have now lost six of our last seven matches conceding 21 goals. 
Ilkeston were unlucky to have a penalty given against them from which Carlton's first goal came. I heard one of the Carlton players saying after the game "That was never a penalty."  The penalty kick struck the post and came out but Tyler Johal was first to react while the Ilkeston players watched. If that wasn't bad enough Ilkeston conceded twice more in the next seven minutes to go in at the interval 1-3 behind instead of leading 1-0. 
We then pulled one back staight after the restart to give us a chance of a comeback but later cancelled it out by gifting Carlton a fouth goal. It was so frustating. 
The Carlton players were overjoyed at full time revelling in their victory while the Ilkeston players left the field cursing their luck yet again.

 

Last edited by Matchman (26/12/2019 10:20 PM)

My match report :
Ilkeston Town  2  Carlton Town  4
Three goals conceded in the seven minutes before half time sealed Ilkeston’s fate after Kieran Wells had put them ahead. Carlton coped with the sodden pitch better than Ilkeston and deserved their win. Ilkeston’s expected bumper Boxing Day crowd was restricted to 468 by the continual rain before and during the match.
There were few chances early on as both sides cancelled each other out. Carlton had a close shave on 15 minutes when the ball took a deflection and rolled agonisingly across their goal and out for a corner. Three minutes later Ilkeston were ahead when Wells scored with a fabulous header from about 12 yards out. Carlton fought back but it took a penalty decision to get them level when Arron Opoku was fouled on 38 minutes. Tom Maddison’s spot kick hit the post  and came back into play but Tyler Johal reacted first to score with the follow up. Before Ilkeston could recover Johal struck again and then Opoku made it three, so instead of going into the interval one up Ilkeston found themselves 1-3 down.
Dean Freeman scored early in the second half to give the Robins hope of a come back. Two minutes after that Jamie Walker crossed and a Wells header was only just too high. The Robins tried to push for an equaliser but Carlton were getting the better chances. On 69 minutes Ilkeston conceded a very avoidable fourth scored by Oliver Clarke. The goal deflated Ilkeston and Carlton saw out the remaining 20 minutes with few scares. Ross Durrant did well to stop another Carlton goal following a counter attack and a Kieran Fenton free kick was only just over for Ilkeston. Carlton’s joy was audible when the full time whistle blew but for the Ilkeston players it was a third consecutive defeat. 



Carlton's match report :

OUTSTANDING BOXING DAY LOCAL DERBY WIN PUTS MILLERS BACK INTO PLAYOFF PLACE.

Carlton Town made it 6 wins from 9 away games with an outstanding Boxing Day win in front of the biggest crowd in the division as 468 witnessed Carlton’s 4-2 win at Ilkeston Town.
Carlton after an outstanding run, had lost their last two games and there are not many more difficult fixtures in the League than Ilkeston away.
Chairman Mick Garton stood with supporters for the whole game and was delighted with the way Tommy and Mark’s team responded after the two recent setbacks. “Ilkeston have fantastic support and but for another foul afternoon of weather, I’m sure the gate would have been well over 500” said the Millers Chairman.
“We might have been in the minority support wise, but our travelling fans were very vocal and really got behind the team, the fact the players and management came over at the end and acknowledged that, was much appreciated by the supporters”
“I thought it was an excellent performance to a man and I was proud of the lads and the management team today, we are well above where we expected to be when we made the decision to bring Tommy and Mark onboard and to go into 2020 in a playoff position is a fantastic achievement” continued the Chairman.
For the record, Kerian Wells gave Ilkeston the lead after Ilkeston started brightly, but Carlton were always in the game and really stepped up to the plate after going a goal behind. The impressive Arron Opoku was brought down in the box, but skipper Tom Maddison missed his first penalty for the club, hitting the post but the equally impressive Tyler Johal was on hand to volley in the rebound. Johal then made it two after Oliver Clark won an important header from a corner, before the goal of the game on the stroke of half time, started with a punched clearance from Jack Steggles and brilliantly finished by Aaron Opoku with a superb chip over the Ilkeston keeper. Ilkeston made a flying start to the second half and Freeman pulled a goal back for the home side after Carlton failed to clear their lines from a corner, but Carlton responded by continuing to play decent passing football, although the goal came following a set play with Oliver Clark’s header beating the Ilkeston keeper who was clearly distracted by the brilliantly positioned Niall Davey who along with Clark was another star of this outstanding performance.
Final word to the Millers Chairman! “This is right up there with the away win at Stamford and the away win in the other local Derby at Worksop Town where I also stood behind the goal with our supporters” “Ilkeston is clearly a club now going in the right direction with the people they have on board and we should feel proud of going there and getting that kind of result, we look forward to hosting them on Easter Monday, it was also nice to bump into a few friends today who I have not seen for a while and with that and the positive result, it made it a very special day” concluded the Millers Chief.

Last edited by Matchman (27/12/2019 4:10 PM)