Ilkeston Town 3 Fleetwood Town 3

Saturday October 27th 2007 UniBond League Premier Division
Crowd: 285
Goals: FTFC: Jamie Milligan, Steve Foster, Ricky Mercer

Fleetwood Town recovered from a two goal half time deficit to mount a dramatic comeback which almost realised all three points. The first 45 minutes saw some shambolic defending from the visitors who were stung by a three goal riposte from the hosts after Jamie Milligan had given Fleetwood the lead against the run of play.

The opening minutes set the tone for what was to follow; Ilkeston repeatedly finding space behind Town's back three as they unleashed a series of daring raids. But it was Fleetwood who broke the deadlock when the home side failed to deal with a Phil Denney flick on following a long ball from deep, so allowing Milligan time and space to work an opening and bury a left foot shot in the corner of the net. But Ilkeston's response was immediate; another pass into the inside right channel ending with Muller finishing from close range to give goalkeeper Danny Hurst no chance whatsoever. With half time beckoning, Ilkeston added to the gloom of the visitors with a two goal blast; Ilkeston's third goal coming right on the stroke of half time when the unmarked Ross headed in a near post corner.

With Town 3-1 down, manger Tony Greenwood reacted positively, introducing Steve Foster for Alex Taylor to add more aggression and presence up front, and replacing the beleaguered Guy Heffernan with Lennie Reid as Fleetwood reverted to the more traditional 4-4-2. Gradually, Fleetwood worked their way back into the game; Ilkeston's players clearly struggling for fitness as the game wore on. Richie Allen replaced the tiring Donnelly as Greenwood went for broke and to the delight of the travelling Cod Army, the changes worked admirably. A fine run and finish by Foster made the score 3-2 and when combative skipper Ricky Mercer threw himself bravely at a delightful inswinging free kick by Milligan to head the equalizer, there looked only one winner. Allen twice went close, and there was thrills and spills galore in the Ilkeston penalty area as Fleetwood searched in vain for a winner.

But this was one point gained rather than two lost and the second half performance should give Fleetwood the momentum and confidence they need as they prepare for the visit of runaway league leaders Witton Albion at Highbury on Tuesday.

Team: Danny Hurst, Michael Brown, Lee Peatfield, Martin Moran, Ricky Mercer, Guy Heffernan [Lennie Reid], Kieran Walmsley, Ciaran Donnelly [Richie Allen], Phil Denney, Alex Taylor [Steve Foster], Jamie Milligan