Dixon is on.     Great catch under pressure by Roberts. 
Ilkeston free kick wide left  Preston does really well to grab the ball.     1-2      73 mins
 

Glossop are beating Mickleover 1-0 in the other semi final with minutes remaining!

Full time.     Belper 1 Ilkeston 3

Apolgies for getting the timings wrong

Last edited by Matchman (18/2/2026 8:54 AM)

Well this has picked everyone up with this result and getting to the final at Pride Park. A really good win which we well deserved. Only downside was that I missed TWO yes two goals !!!
  Last night was like the old times where the fans were amazing and not just at the ground . On the coach the atmosphere was brilliant made even better with the coach driver as he got involved getting the fans singing .
   In the pub the fans again were brilliant singing plays even Nally sung ... Inside the ground or more or non stop singing from the ilson fans . I was surprised how quiet the Belper fans were. 
  But most of all credit to the players in getting to the final. This result has lifted the fans ...
I am hoping someone got the goals on video ........

Great night ....

Last edited by kevilsonlad (18/2/2026 7:20 AM)

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Not our finest performance last night but we battled through on another energy sapping pitch and got the result. Wonderful support from the Ilkeston fans who easily outsung the home supporters. That was a tough match against a good Belper side who pushed us all the way. Who knows what the result might have been had they not been reduced to ten players. Great celebrations after the game with Andy Nally and Mark Frost at the Supporters bus before we made the return journey. 

 

Last edited by Matchman (18/2/2026 8:50 AM)

Does Anyone know the Date of the Final?

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​Our opponents in the final are Glossop North End.
They overcame Mickleover and here is their semi final match report:


Glossop North End 1-0 Mickleover
Fabulous Finalists

Glossop North End stormed into their first major final in eleven years with a 1-0 victory over Mickleover, thanks to a Jacques Etia wonder strike on sixty five minutes. A third clean sheet in the competition meant the strike was enough to secure victory, in front of 345 fans, and book the Hillmen’s place in the showpiece event at Derby County’s Pride Park in April.
Manager Lee Wilshaw was forced into two changes to his starting lineup with James Purfield and Jacques Etia coming in for the suspended club captain, Olly Parker, and striker Ethan Sutcliffe. He welcomed back Chidi Osuchukwu into the bench too, testament to the strength of squad he has assembled. 
The visitors, who play their league football a step higher than Glossop, in the Midlands league, started brightly. A deflected shot earned them a corner in the second minute and defender Daniel Benson powered a free header straight at Joey Oldham, whose handling on the goal line was spot on. Warning sides but Glossop quickly grew into the game, settled on the ball and started to dictate the tempo. A corner on twenty minutes was headed goal wards by Jordan Schofield but the Mickleover keeper matched Oldham’s handling to claim cleanly. Throughout the first half Glossop put together the better passages of play, a good move down their left saw captain on the night Mooney-Munoz combine with Connor Berry with the forward’s shot going just wide. A move down the right saw Igwenwanne, Bowker and Gallagher combine before they worked the ball again to Berry, this time on the right hand edge of the box, his shot again flashing just wide. Level at the break and a tight game, but one where Glossop had played the better football and asserted themselves well. A tight semi-final with so much on the line, a game where it felt like a mistake or a moments of brilliance would break the deadlock. The visitors had the ball in the back of the net on fifty five minutes, a run and cut inside by winger Thabang Dube saw the ball turned in at the far post but the offside flag denied them the opening goal. Ten minutes later the home side had the lead, and it was a moment of brilliance which provided it.
Jordan Schofield was allowed to drive forward from the back, over half way, he played the ball into the feet of Aeron Bardsley who had sprinted forward in support, with real aggression. He slipped the ball Into Jacques Etia who still had a lot of work to do from the left hand edge of the box. Etia has been with Glossop for a number of seasons now, suffering relegation with the team in 2023. He’s the kind of player who feeds off the energy from the crowd, a real fan favourite. As he drove inside the box the crowd noise rose in anticipation, the run of Bardsley was used as a decoy, as he dragged a defender with him. Etia squeezed though a gap between two defenders, unleashed a wonderful shot, across the keeper and into the net at the clubhouse end. He ran away to celebrate in front of the trenches, the opening goal, so important in any game, but especially a tightly contested semi final. Advantage Glossop. Both managers made tactical changes and substitutions, the visitors seeking an equaliser, the Hillmen looking to nullify the threats. The Glossop defence, to a man, were excellent. Fullbacks Igwenwanne and Bardsley once again were required to defend their flanks against attacking side players and then join in the GNE attacks, offering width. Both fulfilled this challenging mandate superbly. Schofield was partnered by Jack Hopkins, with Purfield deployed in front of them initially and then alongside them towards the latter stages of the half, was at his commanding best, communicating, clearing and leading the defensive line. Oldham was excellent again, commanding his box, knowing when to catch and when to punch clear. The work rate from the midfield quartet was excellent once again, breaking up play, carrying the team forward, some great touches they were fouled often but kept their composure throughout. Gallagher and Bowker replaced by Abdul Djalo and the returning Osuchukwu as the half progressed, but the quartet never missed a step and won their midfield battle. As the clock reached ninety minutes the referee added four, but ended up playing seven.On ninety minutes a shot from distance by Mickleover went through a group of bodies and could easily have squeezed in for an equaliser, but Oldham reacted well, pushing the ball to safety at full length. Moments later the ball was down the other end, a fantastic through ball from Berry found substitute Junior Smith. He timed his run well, was through on goal, but the keeper smothered his shot to keep the score 1-0. Back down to the other end of the pitch as and Glossop cleared Bardsley carried the ball from inside his own half a to the edge of the Mickleover box, showing great energy after a demanding ninety ninutes. His cross was blocked and cleared. Straight down the other end and Mickleover’s striker, Manni Norkett, moved to occupy the space Bardsley had vacated, he drilled shot goalwards but it was blocked by GNE defenders, combining to put their bodies on the line and was cleared.
After ninety seven minutes the referee blew for full time - joy and relief in equal measures as Glossop celebrated reaching the final, something which seemed a far cry away back in late October. This has been some turn around; thirty three points from seventeen league games, four victories in the Derbyshire Cup, two against higher level opposition, the season still with a real sense of purpose, over its remaining weeks with the final nine weeks away. As commented in the post match interviews it provides a real focal point for the team, keeps the competition for places healthy and provides reward for everyone involved with the club at the end of a season which started poorly, but gathers momentum week on week. A showpiece final to look forward to, a great night out for the club and the community. Viva GNE.
By Iain Taylor

Attendance  345