The New Manor Ground outfit, now managed by David Holdsworth, have been one of the surprise packages of the season so far and were ten points better off than Matlock ahead of the Dales side’s meeting with Worksop Town on Wednesday night.

With rain wiping out the visit of Prescot Cables to Matlock last Saturday, as well as flooding the pitch, boardroom and offices, the weather also dashed a chance to watch the Robins in action on Tuesday night.

Matlock joint managers Phil Brown and Gareth Williams had hoped to see Ilkeston play Boston United on Tuesday, but the game was also postponed because of a waterlogged pitch.

"Ilkeston have made a really good start,” said Brown.

“A new manager has come in and he's got a decent budget bringing in a lot of new players and has rejigged the squad,” said Brown.

"But we saw them during the pre-season and have a fair idea of how they play.

“They've got some major threats and are capable of turning defence into attack very quickly."

The cup draw is probably one that neither side wanted at this early stage of the competition as a good FA Cup run brings in much needed finance and also prestige.

"The cup's important considering the money involved and the prestige a good run can bring to a club like ours,” Brown said.

“The draw's not ideal for us as you generally expect a tie such as this in a round or two later than the first qualifying round, but you want who you get and Ilkeston will probably be thinking the same things about the draw as us.

“However, I think we can go there with confidence, particularly if we play like we did against Guiseley and Eastwood.

“While we respect each team in this league, really we shouldn't fear anyone.

"It would have been nice to carry on the Eastwood performance against Prescot and, while nothing's guaranteed in football, we were very confident of picking up the three points at the weekend.

“We've probably had the hardest start of anyone in our league with three or four outstanding performances and we've more than held our own which is a positive thing.”

Two departures from Causeway Lane this week have seen defender Cameron Fearon join Ilkeston, while midfielder Reuben Wiggins-Thomas has moved up the A6 to Buxton.

Fearon joined the Gladiators initially on loan from Chesterfield last December before making the move a permanent one during the summer.

Wiggins-Thomas was also once with the Spireites before moving to Bradford Park Avenue, Hucknall Town and latterly Eastwood Town before moving to Causeway Lane from Coronation Park last February.

Dene Cropper, who took a hefty blow after a challenge by Eastwood defender Mark Hume last week, was expected to be fit for last night's clash with Worksop, and although Jamie Jackson was more of a doubt, he too should have been fit enough for a return.