Ashton United go into Saturday’s Evo-Stik League Northern Premier League game at home to Ilkeston of the back of three away wins in a row. The Robins haven’t played at Hurst Cross in over a month since beating Halesowen Town on the 20th September in a 1-0 win and co-managers Paul Phillip’s and Steve Halford will be looking to carry on the fine run they are currently on, making them the form side in the league.

The spoils were shared in two even games during the 2013/14 season as the sides came away with a win apiece, with Ashton winning at Ilkeston 2-1 and then in the reverse fixture the Derbyshire side winning 3-1 at Hurst Cross.

Ashton have one of the top defensive records in the league having only conceded fourteen in fourteen games and the stability in the back four after the loss of Cavell Coo is paying dividends to picking up results. Early in the season the Lancashire based side struggled to hit the net but of late this has not been a problem with seven scored in the last three victories and the likes of Richard Bennett and Matt Chadwick have hit a purple patch in front of goal.

The visitors Ilkeston FC, coincidentally nicknamed ‘The Robins’ too, are managed by long term manager Kevin Wilson who has been at the club since 2009. Having played for some of the best sides in England, Wilson has great experience in the game and his side are also in good form this league campaign so far. Perched just outside the play-off places, a 3-0 loss away at Kings Lynn Town ended their good run and Ilkeston will want to bounce back on Saturday as they travel to Hurst Cross. Forwards Robert Duffy and Kane Richards have both played a big part in their side’s recent success, having scored 20 of their sides 33 goals this campaign.

Ashton’s joint manager Paul Phillips is a great admirer of the work that Kevin Wilson has done in his playing and managing career and he is under no illusions that Ilkeston will travel to Hurst Cross looking for a win; “They are flying high in the league and recently beat FC United so we will need to be on top form to get the better of them. Kevin is very knowledgeable on the game and I'm sure we will have a good football chat before the game starts as we always do. He's a manager that has played at the highest level for some top clubs and he tries to instill that into his players.”

Ilkeston have put many sides to the sword this year with quick, expansive play and it is up to the resolute United back four to stop them, Phillips added; “We went to the New Manor ground two or three weeks ago and they've added some good experience in the side to go with their youth such as Che Adams. They play open football and have scored a lot of goals this year, we've played all of the top six so far and we've only beaten ourselves because we know we can match any team on our day and we want to carry on our encouraging run of form too.”

Club captain of the home side Jay Gorton backed up his manager’s quotes when talking about this weekend’s opposition saying; “Che Adams is one we've been told to keep an eye on, so it's going to be difficult but if we start right and stick to our game plan we're confident we can get the result we need. We know on our day we can beat anyone in this league, last season is proof of that. The gaffers know we step up our game when the game is important, and after our hit and miss start we know how crucial these games are before the hectic Christmas period.”

21 year-old Ashton United defender Greg Pearson has played for both sides. Pearson played over twenty times for Ilkeston between 2011 and 2012 before leaving the club. Having been without Pearson for the last two weeks through injury, the versatile back has been missed but is set to return to action against his former side this weekend after his lay off. With such a crowded fixture schedule there may be some room for maneuver in terms of rotation and Phillip’s said; “Greg Pearson is back and most of the squad is fully fit. We picked up one or two knocks in Tuesday’s game but Jay Gorton should be okay. We are hopeful of bringing someone in on Friday as we’ve given their club seven days’ notice and if that fails we have put in a few loan enquiries for a Conference North player so hopefully the squad is slowly building in numbers.”

The game kicks off at Hurst Cross at 3pm and is preceded by football on Sky TV screens in the clubhouse. Everyone is welcome and a selection of beers together with real ale available to those with a taste for it.