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Ilkeston Town 3 - 3 Ashton Utd

9/ 4/2008

ASHTON left the New Manor Ground frustrated after twice letting a two-goal lead slip and conceding in the fifth added minute at the end of the match.

To add insult to injury, defender Matthew Flynn was dismissed for handling the ball on the line as he attempted to prevent the home side snatching an undeserved point.

For the majority of the afternoon, it was a good day out for the Robins’ players, management and fans as they dominated the match, creating a succession of chances.

After an early scare, when Gavin Knight headed over, Ashton settled into their game and started to threaten Town’s goal as Ben Deegan found the side-netting and Iain Howard’s lob forced Phil Senior to tip over.

Town almost took the lead against the run of play when Matt Baxter’s speculative shot from distance struck the outside of the post, but Ian Bennett and Nathan Wharton had firm control of the midfield.

The Robins went ahead two minutes before the break when Bennett’s fine through ball was slotted past Senior by Howard.

It was mostly one-way traffic in the second half as Ashton doubled their lead seven minutes after the break, Deegan giving Senior no chance from Howard’s pass.

Although the floodgates seemed poised to open, United failed to add to their advantage despite numerous corners and near misses.

Senior tipped over from Howard, Flynn headed off target, while Senior also denied Deegan before the hosts reduced the arrears against the run of play 20 minutes from time when Lee Featherstone’s shot went through Damien Rooney’s hands.

Bennett restored Ashton’s two-goal lead with 10 minutes left, only for the home side to score a shock second through substitute Nathan Winder.

With the referee signalling four added minutes, which seemed excessive given there had not been any major stoppages, there was a sting in the tail when the fifth minute saw a needless free kick conceded.

Ilkeston put the ball into the penalty area, the ensuing melee forcing Flynn to handle the ball on the line and receive a straight red card.

Although Rooney got a hand to Winder’s spot kick, he could not keep it out as the battle for survival goes on.

Attendance: 257