Ilkeston Town V St Ives Town-Match Preview
Date: 25.10.25
Location: New Manor Ground
Following their professional 8-0 victory against Huntingdon Town in the Hunts Senior Cup, Ricky Marheineke’s side are once again on their travels as they take on Ilkeston Town in the ISUZU FA Trophy.
Ives will be making the trip to Derbyshire looking to claim what would be only their second away win of the season in all competitions and seal their progression into the hat for the Second Round Proper.
Marheineke gave us his thoughts on the upcoming FA Trophy fixture following his side’s impressive display against Alvechurch on Saturday afternoon.
“Really tough (opponents), I’ve only been there once. Lovely ground, 3G pitch.
“I don’t know how they got on today but they either win or they lose. They hadn’t drawn any when we last looked at the league table.
Tough place to go but we’re good so I’d like to think that we’ll give them the respect that they deserve and no doubt they will be giving us the respect that we deserve.”
A win against Ilkeston will see Ives make it through to the second round of this competition for only the third time in the club’s history, with recent cup runs in 2020/21 and 2023/24 currently the standout performances.
Ives will go into the game with a close to full squad to choose from, with only loan signing George Munday remaining side-lined through injury. A few of Marheinke’s main starters were given a much-needed rest for their mid-week win against the Hunters, whilst there was some much needed game time for some of the fringe players in the squad.
Ilkeston Town
The Robins will certainly be a tough test for Marheineke’s men, with the Derbyshire-based outfit coming into this contest in some good form having won four of their last five games in all competitions.
Manager Ian Deakin’s side will have been coming into the season looking to go one step further than last, with Ilkeston having finished in 6th place in last year’s Northern Premier League Central table, missing out on a play-off spot by just three points to Ashton United.
Saturday’s opponents made it to this stage of the completion having beaten Evesham United 2-0 at The Spiers and Hartwell Stadium. A win against Ives would see Robins make the second round of this competition for the first time in the club’s history.
Last Time Out
The last time these two sides faced off against one another was back in January 2023, when both sides were members of the Southern League Premier Division Central. A superb second half comeback from Ives saw Marheineke’s men claim a share of the spoils, with goals from Myles Cowling and Jonny Edwards cancelling out Remayne Campbell’s two first half efforts.
Previous Meetings
St Ives Town 2-2 Ilkeston Town-21st January 2023
Ilkeston Town 2-3 St Ives Town-4th October 2022
