ALBION, even if the table does not show it just yet, are upwardly mobile again.

And after winning five of the past half-dozen matches on their own pitch, avoiding defeat in the other, they don’t mind playing at home either.

The Robins were right to be peeved at not being awarded a penalty when Ben Harrison tripped Gary Ricketts before the break, but they were second best for the remainder.

Not that they should be shamed by losing to Witton, for only Chorley – table-toppers after winning at Stafford – can match Albion’s current six-match unbeaten sequence.

The encounter was a close one for an hour.

Even when the home team scored, Ilkeston reacted instantly to level.

It was then Brian Pritchard’s men at last assumed control.

Josh Hancock’s decisive winner, hammered emphatically into the net after goalkeeper Lloyd Allinson had been absent-minded when attempting to trap Matt Baker’s pass, arrived with 10 minutes left.

Witton, recently at least, are a side with stamina.

They have now scored game-changing goals during the final quarter hour in three of their past four games.

That said, Hancock’s hit was preceded by a flurry of chances.

The wide man had himself steered a shot against an upright seconds before he struck with greater accuracy.

Kyle Wilson, after charging through the visitors’ defence, was denied only by a smart smothering save by the Robins’ on-loan shot-stopper.

There was alarm at the other end in between, but Marc Joseph’s block thwarted Baker after he had turned the ball goal-wards following a corner.

Ilkeston had conjured an equaliser from a flag kick, Ricketts reacting quickest to score after the hosts had failed to clear.

That was from the visitors’ first foray forward after Witton’s opener, plundered by Michael Powell on 60 minutes.

Moved back into midfield in the absence of injured Anthony Sheehan after a star turn in defence over the past fortnight, his goal was a reminder of versatility’s value.

After swapping passes with a teammate on the edge of the penalty area, he blasted a low finish out of Allinson’s reach.

The first half followed a familiar pattern of meetings between these teams; evenly-matched, and watchable.

Witton threatened first, only for Allinson to help over Ally Brown’s already-rising drive after Danny Andrews’ dribble had taken him into dangerous territory.

Powell, twice, headed too high from Hancock corners. The second one, from close range, was a more difficult chance than it appeared.

There was time for controversy too when Harrison timed imperfectly a tackle on Ricketts, who tumbled in the box.

The linesman spotted the Witton skipper’s mistake only for referee Alan Clayton, erroneously as it happens, to rule out a foul.

“I felt robbed,” said Ilkeston boss Kevin Wilson afterwards.

His side did not recover.

As for Albion, they may look lowly in the standings but nobody should be fooled.

After avoiding defeat in nine successive matches, their recovery is real.

Witton Star Man: Josh Hancock. An easy choice, for once. Hancock’s intelligent movement in from the touchline to a central position – from which he often shot or played a probing pass – was never negated by Ilkeston.

They paid a heavy price for the wide man delivered Witton’s winner. Seconds earlier, he had drifted into a space from which he sent a shot against an upright.

Witton (4-4-2) Cooper (GK), Brown, Harrison, Bodie, Joseph, Andrews, Breeze, Powell, Hancock, Kyle Wilson, Thompson Subs not used Plant (GK), Gardner, Dawson, Purcell, Moseley Goals Powell 60, Hancock 79

Ilkeston (4-4-2) Allinson (GK), Anton, Maguire, Baker, Storey, Kane Richards, Reid, Webster (Gordon 87), Matt Richards (Stokes 14), Ricketts, Grantham (Ryan Wilson 87) Subs not used Williams, Hooton Goal Ricketts 62

Referee Alan Clayton (Hyde)
Attendance 390