The final hour saw Grantham a man short after Michael Hollingsworth was dismissed by the referee for a dangerous challenge. Nathan Dyer hit the vital strike just after half time as Grantham put in a resolute performance.

“Everyone got a fantastic workout tonight and will have got a lot of fitness from the game.” Said Manager Martin McIntosh. “It was a shame for Holly and on his birthday too!!”

Prior to the sending off, the game had seen both sides largely cancel each other out. Grantham played with Remaye Campbell as a lone forward and although the Gingerbreads had a lot of the ball behind him, they could only create half chances to pressure the Ilkeston goal.

A couple of corners came to nothing while for the home side Alex Troke brought a save from Jan Budtz after 11 minutes. Grantham twice put themselves under pressure by giving the ball away in midfield. Zac Goodson had good opportunities both times. First a challenge on the edge of the penalty area robbed him of a shooting chance with the home side wanting a penalty. After 25 minutes, Goodson picked up on a loose pass and sent Troke away, but a poor cross let Grantham off the hook.

The flash point of the first half came after 33 minutes. Hollingsworth lost the ball and appeared to be caught by an Ilkeston player. He lunged in to try and retrieve the ball, only to catch his opponent in what the referee determined was a dangerous challenge, so showed a red card.

The Gingerbreads re-organised to being a man short in midfield as Ilkeston tried to take advantage. Budtz worked well to deny James Reid after 39 minutes, while good work from his defence denied shooting chances when the home side crossed the ball into the danger zone.

From the start of the second half, Grantham appeared a resilient side, but had a cutting edge to them. Campbell tangled with a defender in the first minute of the half and went down, but the referee was giving nothing again. Ben Turners’ run and shot brought the first real save from the Ilkeston goalkeeper, former Gingerbread Richard Stainsby diverted the shot away from his near post.

Stainsby was beaten in the 49th minute. Campbell laid the ball off to Nathan Dyer who took his time to work a shooting chance and fire across Stainsby low into the corner of the net.

The Gingerbreads kept two tight banks of four behind a lone striker and frustrated the home side. Crosses into the penalty area were dealt with well by Tom Ward and Greg Young, while in front of them, the Gingerbreads midfield reduces Ilkeston to shots from distance.

Reid fired wide of the target on a couple of occasions and it took until the 80th minute for a clear chance to arrive. Ollie Brown-Hill was allowed too much space as the Grantham defence began to drop deeper. From 30 yards out, he let fly and hit the angle of the post and crossbar with Budtz beaten.

Ilkeston threw everything at Grantham as time ran out to try and grab an equaliser. Goodson lifted a shot well over the bar while Reid chose to square the ball instead of shoot, allowing Grantham to clear their lines again. A great rescuing tackle from Ward denied Goodson with two minutes left, just when the Ilkeston substitute looked as though he had a clear shot on goal.

Match Report by Graham Cowell