A sizeable crowd turned up to see which of these two local rivals would go through to the final at Pride Park in April and they were treated to an end-to-end cup tie with the visitors looking stronger after the break.

Fox had the ball in Belper’s net after just 2 minutes, and the assistant’s flag came to Belper’s rescue and the attempt was disallowed.

Unfortunately, the Nailers hadn’t learned from the earlier incident, and it was Fox who scored from six yards in an identical situation to put the visitors in front.

A stray pass in the 7th minute fell to Brandy and he nearly put the Robins two goals to the good but for an acrobatic save from Preston the visitors would have been well on their way to a win.

Pressure from the Nailers in the 31st minute ended with Gratton’s low drive taking a late deflection to earn a corner

The Nailers battled hard in the latter stages of the first half and were unfortunate not to score in the 44thth minute, but two goal line headed clearances kept Ilkeston’s goal intact.

Belper kept up the momentum and were rewarded with an equaliser in added first half time when De Girolamo cleverly guided the ball into the path of Wafula who finished with a great shot just inside the post.

The second half started badly for the Nailers when Fox deflected in a cross from the left to put the Robins in command of the tie.

The visitors began to show their pedigree with some good passing movements enhanced by their speed on the ball, and while Belper coped defensively their job became more difficult after 62 minutes.

Bastos having won a free kick in midfield inexplicably got up and barged the Ilkeston player over and which point the referee showed Bastos a red card and the tie was effectively over at this stage.

The Robins were on the front foot from then on and although the Nailers coped well enough a poor clearance from Preston gave Kirby-Moore the chance to run through, but he wasted the opportunity with poor execution.

Belper mounted a come back in the latter stages and forced a number of corners without success, and with players committed, Ilkeston took advantage on the break with Dixon hitting the third goal on 89 minutes.

Ilkeston will now play Glossop North End in the final.

Belper Town: Preston, Bowman (Fankwe 68), Keenan, Wafula, Broadhead, Evans, Bastos, Burrows (Austin 72), De Girolamo, Moran (Markelic 79), Gratton (Shaw 79): Unused sub: Hassett

Ilkeston Town: Roberts, Abudu, Parker, Thornhill (Essien 69), Marshall, Whyle, Brandy (Walker 61), Carter, Fox (Dixon 79), Kirby-Moore, Youmbi. Unused subs: Leivers, Hutchinson.

Referee: Gareth Davis

Att: 780

Match Sponsor: Raygar Architectural and Engineering.

Sponsors Man of the Match; Louis Keenan