Antwan Russell’s and his Ilkeston FC teammates played to a goalless draw at Buxton which was both pleasing and frustrated for manager Kevin Wilson.
He was delighted that his side kept a welcome clean sheet – only a second in 17 League matches – particularly after Gary Ricketts saw red late on.
But he was once again left ruing an inability to capitalize on decent chances going forward that prevented a fifth away win of the campaign.
It was a second draw against the Buxton inside a week, after the game at the New Manor Ground last Thursday finished 1-1.
“We never go into the game with the mentality of just picking up a point, but when you look at the statistics, I think this is only our second clean sheet away from home all season and only our second in the League anywhere since Christmas,” said Wilson.
“I said to the lads after the game that if they had battled and really done their jobs like that in some other games this season then we would have picked up a lot more points. We were really determined.
“We went there and it was a bouncy pitch and it meant we couldn’t play as much football as we wanted, although we did try, perhaps a little too much early on. Sometimes you have to adapt to the situation and we did in the end. They put a lot of pressure on you from set plays and long throws, so it’s never easy, but we did well.
“Once again, though, we haven’t made the most of our opportunities, which has been a problem for us all season. Russell had a header past the post in the first half, James Reid went clear but didn’t score in the second, Gary Ricketts had one and we shot straight into the keeper’s arms a couple of times when we should have done better.”
Wilson is reserving judgment on the Ricketts dismissal until he has seen the video footage, but it is likely to deny him the veteran striker’s services for three matches. Because of when the ban kicks in, that may include the Derbyshire Senior Cup Final and the manager said: “Looking at it, he might be back for Marine, but the Matlock final may be no go.
“That’s disappointing, but Gary’s disciplinary record this season has been good and I want to see the tape again before I have an opinion on if it was right or wrong.”
Ilkeston FC fans would have been encouraged to see Matt Richards fit enough to feature in the second period coming off the bench, but Ryan Wilson (bang to the head) and Jack Watts (ankle) were both forced off.
“We will have to monitor Ryan over the next couple of days ahead of the game at Kendal on Saturday because he was feeling sick and dizzy,” said manager Wilson. “I think Jack is definitely a non-starter at the weekend, but hopefully he will be able to recover in time for the cup final, which is when we will be trying to get all our injured players fit for.
“On a more encouraging note, we were able to give Danny Gordon a taste of first-team action in the closing stages and there might be more first-team games for Academy lads in the closing weeks of the season.”
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