Rai Simons struck in the 71st minute to help Ilkeston FC stretch their unbeaten run to 15 matches in a 1-1 home draw with Whitby Town that sees them stay second in the Evo-Stik Premier Division.
The Bermudian international took advantage of a moment of defensive uncertainty and scored as he challenged keeper Shane Bland, who was trying to deal with a back pass at the New Manor Ground.
Only six minutes earlier, the visitors took the lead when the ball bounced around the penalty area after a free-kick. It fell to Niall Doran who netted from close range in front of a crowd of 471.
Simons' goal brought Ilkeston to life and somewhere near the excellent form which has propelled them up the table since the trip to Whitby on November 15. Since then, there have been 13 wins and two draws.
As the match headed to a close, Rob Duffy and Mike Williams came close to scoring while Simons nearly managed a second goal.
There were few alarms at the other end with the authoritative figure of keeper Jordan Smith behind a defence marshalled by captain Joe Maguire.
Ilkeston manager Kevin Wilson said: "Whitby are one of those sides which should really be up there. They gave us a difficult game at Whitby and gave us a difficult game.
"We didn't really click and have the fluency we have had in controlling games. But they have done exceptionally well to keep our run going. To have gone 15 games unbeaten is fantastic credit to the players. It is really positive for the club."
Kevin gave a debut to former Arsenal youngster Arinse Uade at left-back. The youngster has just received international clearance after playing in Finland.
An unused sub was striker Eddy Samba, who was released by Leicester City last season. With the recent departures, Wilson has been busily looking for replacements, with a tough schedule ahead.
In Evo-Stik First Division South, Carlton Town's game at Kidsgrove was off due to a frozen pitch, while Rainworth Miners Welfare went 1-0 up at home to Stafford Rangers through a Dean Freeman goal on nine minutes.
But goals from Dan Cope after 39 minutes, new signing Peter Till after 72 minutes and James Dance ten minutes from time saw Rangers take the points.
In the Midland League Premier Division, Basford United lost 2-1 at Alvechurch in an entertaining game played on a difficult surface.
The game was only given the go-ahead after a pitch inspection, with groundstaff working on it up to kick off. The surface was very heavy, with patches where the ball would not roll.
Ryan Whitehurst gave Basford the lead after 24 minutes when he took a pass from Lee Hendrie to score with a low shot from 15 yards.
Five minutes later he nearly made it two but was denied by an excellent stop from home keeper Shaun Edwards.
Basford, fielding three 18-year-olds in their starting 11, were good value for their lead and it was against the run of play that Alvechurch levelled nine minutes before half time through Dimitri Dunkley.
The home side took the lead two minutes into the second half. Dunkley scored his second, this time meeting a cross at the far post to fire home.
As Basford pressed for an equaliser, Edwards saved from Whitehurst, Aaron Webster and Ruben Wiggins-Thomas.
Radford FC saw off Radcliffe Olympic 2-0n at home in the derby game in the East Midlands Counties League thanks to goals from Carey Knight and John King.
There were losses for Arnold Town and Greenwood Meadows, but Kelvin Mushambi and Tony Law scored within a minute of each other in the second half to earn Gedling Miners Welfare a 2-2 home draw with Graham Street Prims, while Elliott King netted as Kimberley Miners Welfare were held 1-1 by Ashby Ivanhoe.
Selected non-league results:
Conference Premier: Welling 2 Alfreton 3
Evo-Stik League Premier Division: Ilkeston FC 1 Whitby Town 1
Evo-Stik League First Division South: Kidsgrove Athletic P-P Carlton Town, Rainworth Miners Welfare 1 Stafford Rangers 3
Midland Football League Premier Division: Alvechurch 1 Basford United 2, Dunkirk 3 Rocester 5, Long Eaton United 2 Tipton Town 1
NCEL Premier Division: Garforth Town 6 Retford United 1
NCEL Division One: Bottesford 2 AFC Emley 2
East Midlands Counties League Premier: Arnold Town 0 Bardon Hill 2, Gedling Miners Welfare 2 Graham Street Prims 2, Greenwood Meadows 1 Barrow Town 7, Kimberley Miners Welfare 1 Ashby Ivanhoe 1, Radford 2 Radcliffe Olympic 0
