No luck for Gainsborough Trinity as they open new season with draw at Ilkeston Town
Lady Luck favoured the hosts on opening day, meaning Gainsborough Trinity had to be content with a share of the spoils as a 2-2 draw in sun and rain, just down the road at Ilkeston Town got points on the board, at the first time of asking, writes Rob Hughes.
Boss Russ Wilcox said: “It was a game of mixed emotions, having led twice.
“They're a good outfit, physically strong - and we got drawn into the way they wanted to play, but - we stood firm.
“A couple of things went against us. Their lucky deflection for the first - and we should have had a penalty - but then when it went 2-2 they gained momentum and we could have lost it, but we saw it through. So, overall- I am pretty satisfied.”
Declan Howe's endeavour on the stroke of half-time forced former Blue, Jonathan Wafula to smash into his own net, and the travelling Trinity could soon have had a second straight after the half-time break.
Shifting the ball well, from right to left, Lewis Butroid’s centre was turned in by Howe - only to be chalked off for offside.
Trinity found themselves pegged back, but rallied again as Howe raced onto a cleverly weighted ball over the top from debutant Aaron Braithwaite, his composed finish getting him up and running for the new season.
Howe was once again prolific during pre-season, netting five goals in six pre-season games, adding to the 27 goals in 34 games he scored last season.
Appeals for a penalty were waved away when Sisa Tuntulwana was bundled to the ground off the ball
And luck favoured the hosts, when Wafula redeemed himself for the hosts, acrobatically firing home, via the underside of the crossbar, and as it bounced down, off the back of Josh Render, to once again draw the Robins level.
Trinity dug in, showing great resilience to pick up a first point of the campaign ahead of a home double header, the second of which, Saturday, sees Ashton United visit the Kal Group Stadium.
Positive results in those two fixtures would make the opening day point a great one.
With an opportunity to build some momentum, Wilcox stressed the importance of not getting carried away with things, saying: “If we'd lost, I wouldn't have got too down, and if we'd won, I wouldn't have got too high.
“We've drawn, so we are somewhere in the middle. It's one game down, away from home. Anyone taking a point away looks at it as a good point.”