Article by Leon Higgins | Contributions by Dredz | Graphic by Razvan Burnar
The first ever meeting against Saturday’s opponents came 18 years ago, when the two sides met in the FA Trophy at the Tameside Stadium. The Nash will be hoping for a different outcome than on that occasion, when Ilkeston ran out 3-1 winners.
It would be another seven years before their paths crossed again, this time in the Northern Premier League, on that occasion the game finished in a 1-1 draw thanks to a Ryan Brooke goal. The Robins also had a lesser known Che Adams in their ranks who went on to be a well known name in the footballing world.
Adams made appearances for Southampton in the Premier League where he scored 41 goals in 134 appearances after playing for Sheffield United and Birmingham City in the EFL where he become a starman in the Championship. He also went on to play in Serie A with Torino and feature for the Scottish National Team where he has currently made 41 appearances including at Euro 2024 in Germany. Since his switch from playing for England at U20 level and rejecting a call up to Antigua and Barbuda he has scored 10 goals.
Later that season Curzon would come out winners, with a 4-0 win in the reverse fixture. The Nash ran riot, with all four goals being scored in the first half, with Niall Cummins, Sam Walker, Ryan Brooke and Jordan Wright all on the scoresheet. Tom Eckersley did however see red and reduce Curzon to ten men. Ultimately they managed to see out the 4-0 win, a great result considering Ilkeston had the best away record in the league.
The last time the two sides met and undoubtedly the most memorable was in the Evo-Stik Premier Division Play-off Final in May 2015.
The Nash reached the final following a penalty shootout against local rivals Ashton United in the semi-final and were looking to secure back-to-back promotions, however, they would be without forwards Ryan Brooke & Niall Cummins as suspension & injury would see the pair miss out.
Ilkeston had the majority of play throughout the game, however it was an 18th minute Simon Woodford goal that would ultimately guarantee the win for The Nash, with the game finishing 1-0 and Curzon securing promotion to the National League North.
