A last-gasp equaliser from the visitors took away any joy Guiseley would have had from gaining a draw that keeps them in the chasing pack in the UniBond Premier Division.

Guiseley had gone in front in the 46th minute and were almost over the winning post when Ilkeston struck with an 89th-minute leveller.

It was a cruel and bitter blow for Guiseley who had edged the tight contest.

"When the final whistle went it felt more like a defeat than a draw, there is huge disappointment in our ranks," said Nethermoor boss Neil Parsley.

Guiseley had fashioned the better openings and enjoyed most of the possession and they were stunned when Ilkeston broke the deadlock just after the half-hour.

It came from a cross from open play, Glen Kirkwood applying the header.

It took Scott Jackson just over a minute to restore parity. He lashed in a 25-yard rocket which crashed over the line off the underside of the crossbar. It was Jackson's second home start after re-signing from Farsley Celtic.

It could have been his third goal of the day! His threat to the visitor's defence was obvious from the beginning.

He shot narrowly wide in the ninth minute and was denied by a fine save soon after. That led to a corner which Mark Stuart delivered and Nathan Hay headed goalwards. The effort was parried and the ball scrambled clear.

Ilkeston's keeper made another finger-tip stop to prevent Andy Lee giving the Guiseley a half-time lead.

Former Bradford City youth Lee was not denied, just delayed. In the second minute after the interval he drove in a left-foot shot from the edge of the area.

If there was a complaint of the home side it was that they did not press home their advantage.

In a game of few chances it was never a comfortable margin to defend and Kirkwood pounced to snatch a share of the spoils with his second goal.

"As a manager you have to look deeper than the scoreline and judge the

players on their performance," said Parsley. "I try to be as rational as possible when I look back at any game, otherwise you are only kidding yourself.

"This one I really thought we deserved to win. I spoke to Nigel Jemson afterwards and he said he felt his side had deserved a draw.

"That isn't the way I saw it. Our keeper Matty Taylor has not had a save to make in the second half. But then we have been punished for one little lapse. Coming so close to the end it was a real sickener.

"There were some plus points though, not least the display of Scott. He looked sharp and played very, very well. His goal was a wonderful strike. He needs games to get match fit after being on the bench so much in his last month at Farsley but he is showing signs of returning to his best.

"Another good point was that we got no injuries before Tuesday's West Riding County Cup tie.

"We are the holders and we are very keen to defend our trophy."