Elston United slipped to a 3–1 defeat at Cotgrave after three second-half goals proved decisive in a game that had been goalless at the break.

Elston made a bright start and produced a string of promising attacks during the opening 20 minutes. Teddy Furman came closest to breaking the deadlock, curling an effort narrowly wide of the far post.

As the half progressed, however, Cotgrave began to pose a greater threat, regularly looking to exploit the space behind the Elston defence with long balls forward. Elston also suffered a setback five minutes before half-time when Toby Craven picked up a nasty back injury and was forced off.

Cotgrave took control after the restart. Although Elston continued to enjoy a reasonable share of possession, they struggled to turn it into the attacking threat they had shown early in the game.

The hosts broke the deadlock after 57 minutes when Ryan Fletcher was unluckily adjudged to have tripped a Cotgrave attacker and the resulting penalty was converted. Five minutes later it was 2–0, as a Cotgrave attacker spotted stand-in goalkeeper Toby Cullen off his line and produced an excellent finish from around 35 yards. The home side then effectively sealed the points with a well-worked third goal after 70 minutes.

James Scott gave Elston some hope five minutes later when his 15-yard drive took a deflection and found the net. But Elston were unable to build any sustained late pressure, leaving Cotgrave to see out a deserved 3–1 victory.

Elston United: Toby Cullen, Curtis French, Teddy Furman, Harry Scott, Toby Craven (Tom Newbould 40, Archie Ablewhite 75), Archie Dillon, Sam Lloyd, Ryan Fletcher, James Scott, James Clarke, Will Veys (Rui Thacker 65).