Squires Gate 2, Silsden 0

SILSDEN returned from the west coast empty handed yet again as Squires Gate grabbed a goal in each half to bank maximum points from this North West Counties League clash.

The Cobbydalers dropped a place to tenth in the Premier Division table as the home side climbed one to seventh and opened up a three-point gap between the clubs.

It could easily have been a draw on chances created but Squires Gate earned the victory with their tenacious attitude.

The hosts took the lead midway through the first half from a set-piece. They had forced a corner, which Alex Murphy delivered well, and Silsden keeper Danny Thorpe made a hash of it to allow Mark Buchan to convert.

The ball was in Thorpe's net again just after the half-hour mark but James Edmunds had turned Brett Ferguson's cross in from an offside position.

It was not Thorpe's day and he failed to complete the game. Murphy made it 2-0 when he netted Ferguson's 52nd-minute curling cross and just three minutes later Thorpe was injured.

The Cobbydalers keeper collided with a post while dealing with another effort and had to limp from the field to end a very unfortunate afternoon.