It was a memorable afternoon at the Microlise New Manor Ground as we secured a comfortable 2-0 victory over Avro in the NPL Premier Division.
A very even first half saw the teams go in level at the break, although there was plenty to be positive about from an Ilkeston perspective.
But two second half goals from Anthony Dwyer and the returning Luke Cox, ensured we could celebrate our first victory in 67 days, and the first under the tenure of Ryan Hindley.
Ash Hunter saw the first chance of the contest fall his way after nine minutes, although he could only strike his effort into the gloves of Jon Robinson.
Avro’s top scorer Benito Lowe got involved seven minutes later, as he latched onto a well-placed cross before firing over the bar.
Ryley Smith then forced Jason Alexander into a smart stop from close range after a good break from the Vulcans.
Dwyer had his first involvement of the afternoon after 24 minutes as he received the ball on the edge of the box before narrowly grazing his effort against the post.
Gunner Elliott had the final chance to give the Robins the lead at the break after 35 minutes, but his strike on the turn was held by Robinson.
Avro were down to 10 men after 54 minutes, as Smith recklessly kicked out at L’Varn Brandy.
This gave Ilkeston the impetus they needed to kick on, as just four minutes later, Dwyer gave us the lead after calmly slotting past Robinson after Elliott excellently played him through on goal.
The advantage was doubled eight minutes later through Luke Cox on his return to Ilkeston. Hunter’s free kick was cleared back out to the edge of the 18-yard box, where it then fell to the defender who rifled home into the bottom corner.
Chances were limited after the second, with Avro looking defeated and Ilkeston looking to slow play down to hold onto the two-goal lead.
McKeal Abdullah was shown red after 91 minutes through a second yellow card, but by that point the Robins had done more than enough to secure victory against our high-flying opponents.
It’s a break from action for Ilkeston next week due to Curzon Ashton’s FA Cup progression, but we return to league action on the 31st of October at the Microlise New Manor Ground against Hyde United, (3pm KO).
Written By Nathan Waller