Witton Albion 2–0 Ilkeston Town

Witton Albion had not won a competitive match at Wincham Park since April when Ilkeston Town arrived on Tuesday 2 September 2008. The new season's two home matches had brought a draw with Frickley Athletic and a 2–0 defeat by Hednesford Town, and the team had lost by the same score at Guiseley three days earlier.

Background

Nigel Deeley had promised after the Hednesford game to strengthen his defence, and Gary Burke, newly signed from Stalybridge, made his debut at centre-back in place of the injured captain Brian Pritchard. Darryl Proffitt, who had recently rejoined the club, started in attack with Kieran Lugsden.

The match

Witton had an early opening when a free kick from Mark Drew was blocked. Then, a little over twenty minutes in, Ilkeston's Robert Scott was sent off for punching Lugsden away from the ball.

Playing against ten men did not make things easy. Ilkeston still threatened, Anthony Howell forcing a save from Greg Smith, and it was goalless at the interval. Deeley made three changes in the second half, bringing on Scott Willis, Tejal-Ross Thaker and Zane Gouldbourne.

In the second half the visitors lost a second player. The striker Amari Morgan-Smith, already booked, was shown a second yellow card for diving. Even then the goal was slow to come: with fourteen minutes left a shot from the full-back Paul Donnelly was deflected onto the crossbar.

Donnelly got his goal in the 82nd minute, from outside the penalty area. Four minutes later Chris Gahgan played a pass through the Ilkeston defence and Proffitt, pushed wide to the left by the goalkeeper Chris Adamson, slid the ball in from a narrow angle.

What it meant

The club's report was careful not to make too much of it, pointing out that Witton had not scored until they were playing nine men. But it was the side's first home win of 2008–09 and its first clean sheet in any match.

It also looks better in hindsight than it did that night. Ilkeston Town recovered to finish second in the division and were promoted. Donnelly's goal was the only one he scored in 23 appearances for Witton that season.

Aftermath

Witton drew their next match, 1–1 at home to Ossett Town, and then lost at Buxton. That defeat was the first of nine in a row in the league; Deeley was dismissed on 2 November 2008 and replaced by Gary Finley, who had managed the club in 2004–05. Witton were relegated at the end of the season.

The club's report gives the attendance as 352. That is the same figure it gave for the match at Guiseley three days earlier, so it may be a slip; no other record of the crowd has been found. All the season's results are in the fixtures and results archive, and the final standings are on the 2008–09 league table page.