Otley Town...............2

Fields..........................1

Not for the first time this season Otley Town dominated the opposition from the first to last whistle yet found themselves behind to a break away goal on the stroke of half-time.

As is becoming the norm the home side started brightly pushing their opponents back and creating one glorious chance after another only to be denied by the inspired 'keeper Brown, who came out on top every time when facing a one-on-one with a Town attacker.

He was lucky on one occasion when after yet another superb run by Firth the ball fell at the feet of his strike partner Langhorn, who from an acute angle smashed the ball into the net only for it to be ruled out by the referee's assistant for no apparent reason.

At half-time the Otley players and management were understandably disappointed at being caught by a sucker punch having wasted so many gilt-edged chances but they were determined to carry on playing the excellent football from the first-half as it was only a matter of time before they got a break.

Town immediately took control once again as the second-half started and within ten minutes of the re-start Michael Jordan was introduced for the unfortunate Ross Hutchison, who once again in only his second first team game looked an outstanding prospect with is forward runs and all round energy in midfield.

Jordan looked very lively after his long absence through injury and his clever runs greated space for both himself and team mates alike. After good work by Langhorn, Jordan found himself in on goal and he

drew the 'keeper before squaring the ball to Firth who made no mistake with the equaliser. The three Town forwards were by now running the oppostion defenders ragged but it seemed that the ball would not go into the net until Langhorn found himself wide on the left and his precision chip clipped the inside of the far post before dropping into the net for a thoroughly deserved winner.

So a 2 - 1 victory for Town who would not have been flattered by a five or six goal winning margin. Andrew Redman was again outstanding for the home team as he continues to play the best football of his life. Tom Dixon played the sweeper role to perfection while Ross Barron and Joe Lunn worked tirelessly in midfield and linked superbly with forwards Firth, Langhorn and Jordan on numerous occasions as they constantly outwitted their foes.

This extremely young Otley side continues to improve leaps and bounds each game and if they stick together over the next few years anything is possible.

Town Reserves................................6

Ilkley AFC...................................2

The oldest saying in football 'it's a game of two halves' was proved in spectacular fashion in this derby. An abject first-half performance by Otley Town in which they gave away sloppy goals and missed good chances meant that the half-time score was 2-1 with Ilkley netting twice either side of Graeme Hutchinson's strike for Town.

The second-half performance could only be an improvement from Otley's point of view but the extent of the improvement was dramatic. Within minutes of the re-start Hutchinson had rounded off a good move to equalise and then worked well with Danny Emsley to allow Boddy to finish from close range.

Otley were now rampant and Hutchinson went clear through to complete his hat-trick and then added another at the back post after more good work from Emsley.

This turnaround from 2-1 down to 5-2 up had taken Otley little over 15 minutes and after this the pace of the game slowed down and goalmouth action became very limited apart from a goaline clearance from Otley's Reynolds.

Then with the game entering its final minutes Town were awarded a penalty which their 'keeper, Kirkpatrick, stepped up to hammer home.

l Otley Town Reserves are away to Beckwithshaw on Saturday with a 2pm kick-off.

Otley Town U-12s......................... 0

Silsden.........................................7

Having played only one game in the last six weeks, a home fixture against Silsden wasn't the best start to the New Year. A side with a

reputation of being a good footballing side with one or two very good individuals.

Otley started very brightly and could have taken the lead on a number of occasions with Thomas Piercy, Toby Wood and Luke Keddle all going close. On 12 minutes and against the run of play, Silsden took advantage of a defensive error and took the lead. More pressure from Town kept the opposition keeper busy and on 20 minutes he had to leave the field with a knee injury. Considering the long lay off Town were now playing some of the best football of the season, but by half time they hadn't managed to square the game.

The second was in complete contrast to the first. A badly defended corner saw Silsden get a second and minutes later a hand-ball in the area gave them their third from the resultant penalty.

As Town pushed forward tiring get back into the game, Silsden showed their class and scored a further four. Although well beaten, the Town lads can take some credit for their contribution to a good game of football. Town's Man-of-the-Match went to James Hayward.