Ilkley.....................6

Wetherby..............1

A convincing victory for Ilkley and a splendid way to herald the new

sponsorship by Booth's supermarket. Resplendently wearing the sponsors logo, Ilkley shook off a run of five drawn games to move comfortably into the semi-final of the Harrogate Senior League cup.

With no chance of a further draw in prospect in this cup game, Ilkley dominated play from the onset with Crowther and Horne instigating threatening breaks in wide positions. On three occassions, Crowther raced clear of his marker after good interplay with Hannaford and Giles, but the final crosses eluded Ilkley forwards.

A long throw by Cummings allowed Hannaford to glance a header on top of the bar, and shots by Knox and Wilson were charged down by increasingly desperate Wetherby defenders.

Ilkley deservedly took the lead after fifteen minutes when Giles' corner kick was cleared back to him and his near-post cross was headed glanced into the net by Wilson. Moments later, Horne chases a deep through ball and

pulled a deep centre beyond Crowther but from the resulting corner-kick Hannaford saw a downward header bounce in at the far post.

In previous games, such chances have been missed and Ilkley players have become increasingly anxious in front of goal but such jitters were dispelled when Wilson planted another header wide of goal-line defenders after another pin-point Giles' corner.

With Wetherby finding it difficult to break out of their own half, Lake in the Ilkley goal was rarely in action though he had to be alert when a deep free-kick almost drifted over him and he used all of his reach to tip the ball wide.

A 3-0 scoreline after 35 minutes presented Ilkley with a chance to cruise and repeat previous tendencies of conceding silly goals. Fortunately, the

Ilkley defenders were coping well with Wetherby's spasmodic attacks, and full-backs Braithwaite and Houlston provided the springboard for several attacking moves.

With Knox becoming more influential in the Ilkley midfield, the tempo was maiantained and Wilson completed his hat-trick when he deflected a Giles' shot past the visitors' 'keeper.

With a 4-0 half-time lead and the prospect of a mid-week derby against

Burley in mind, Ilkley started the second-half in second gear and the game drifted into obscurity as Ilkley players either did too little or too much, and Wetherby players found it difficult to retain possession.

Horne was the source of several breaks with his pace proving troublesome to Wetherby defenders but the final ball was often misplaced. The introduction of Stockdale and a change in formation took time to settle during which Ilkley managed to score another goal. Unfortunately, Bloom's close range volley was into the wrong net as he tried to clear a Wetherby corner.

This signalled the need for further changes to revive Ilkley's staleness, and the introduction of Sayers and Hall provided momentum for Ilkley to

search for further goals. They were rewarded when a long diagonal ball from Houlston set Stockdale free and his low cross was driven into the far corner by Giles to make the score 5-1 and register his first goal of the season.

A sweeping move then saw Wilson hit the post from 15 yards before Knox completed the scoring when racing through the weary defence, rounding the 'keeper and pushing the ball into the empty net.

A comprehensive victory for Ilkley and the chance to face Pool in the semi-final of the Senior Cup at West Holmes field on Saturday (KO 2.30pm).Players meet at 1.30pm at the cricket ground.