Ilkley U-16s 2

Adel 2

ILKLEY Under-16s played their first home game against Adel on Sunday. Half the Ilkley team arrived looking as though they had just stepped off a plane from Ibiza.

Down to the football Ilkley started well and should have gone in front on two occasions. Adel finished the half strong and scored twice on the break.

Ilkley got back on level terms with two early goals from P Weir and W Teasdale. Chances were created at both ends for the remainder of the game but the score stayed the same.

l On Sunday the Ilkley team is at Collingham.

Knaresborough Celtic B 0

Ilkley U-11s B 2

In the first of two games this was a fine away win for Ilkley. They had players in new positions and although the home side started stronger they never really looked likely to score as Ilkley settled down to create some good chances and put the home defence under pressure..

The game was won with two first-half goals in a five minute spell.William Rudman's effort was saved but Adam Benson bravely followed up to score. Rudman then scored a second with a strong shot following a David Stansfield corner.

In the second-half Joe Gallagher replaced Chris Caddick who had worked hard in midfield. There were a few half chances at either end but the home team never looked like scoring against a determined Ilkley defence of Pearce, Stansfield and Stevens. Man-of-the-Match was William Rudman.

Knaresborough Celtic A 1

Ilkley U-11s B 0

In the second game Ilkley were unlucky not to get a poinst in a close game. There was little to choose between the sides and both had several chances to score. Ilkley went the closest with efforts from Benson, Rudman and Stevens.

Ilkley worked hard throughout with Stevens adapting well to wing back and covering a huge amount of ground.

The Knaresborough goal was scored late in the game as Ilkley started to tire and left too much space at the back,.

As Ilkley pushed up looking to get back into the game the home side should have made it 2-0 but goalkeeper Michael Jarrold , who had a fine game, made two reflex saves.

In the last minutes Ilkley pushed Rudman up front with Adam Benson and with good support from Stansfield and Stevens they went close to equalising only being denied by some last ditch tackles from a determined home defence. Man-of-the-Match was Michael Jarrold.

Cookridge 1

Ilkley U-10s 2

Ilkley Under-10s started their new season in the Harrogate League winning three of their four games against Cookridge.

In the first both sides were evenly matched and Cookridge went in at half-time one goal up. In the second-half Daniel Darbyshire soon levelled but Cookridge fought back and it took a fine save from Jordan Walker to prevent Cookridge from taking the lead.

Midway through the half Chris Bagshaw scored Ilkley's winner. The Ilkley defence, in which Jonathon Knipe played extremely well, had to work hard to prevent Cookridge from equalising.

Cookridge 2

Ilkley U-10s 1

Ilkley took the lead in this game mid-way through the first-half when Chris Atkins put Chris through and he scored. Cookridge hit back and hit a post before finally levelling.

The second-half saw both Atkins and Jame Heaton have shots well saved. Against the run of play Cookridge scored the winner.

Cookridge 1

Ilkley U-10s 2

James Heaton put Chris Atkins through to open the scoring in this game. Cookridge equalised before the break and Ilkley had a number of chances in the second-half before Atkins netted the winner. Edward Long made a number of good saves in the Ilkley goal.

Cookridge 0

Ilkley U-10s 1

Both defences played well in this game. Jordan Walker made a number of good saves in the Ilkley goal andjust before the final whistle Daniel Darbyshire put Chris Bagshaw through and he made no mistake.

Ilkley U11s 'B' 1

Old Mods 'B 0

ILKLEY 'B' team were well on top for most of the game and should really have won comfortably. In the first-half only the woodwork and some high quality goalkeeping kept the home team in the game with Adam Benson, Thomas Dakin and David Stansfield all coming close.

The game was won late on in the second-half with a well taken goal from Thomas Dakin after David Stansfield won the ball in midfield. At the back George Brunfitt looked secure, Louis Bleazard as usual read the game well and Mark Coldwell worked hard supporting the forwards and delivered some good crosses. Goalkeeper Hayden Robinson was mainly untroubled.

Ilkley U11s 'B' 0

Old Mods 'A' 5

INJURIES affected Ilkley 'B' team in the second game of the morning. First Ilkley lost Jonathan Taylor with a recurring injury and by half-time had lost their captain Louis Bleazard who was also injured and replaced by William Pearce.

Ilkley went behind to two early goals, but then settled and Thomas Dakin and Adam Benson both had good opportunities and Ilkley should have levelled the score by half-time.

In the second-half Ilkley came to regret the missed opportunities. As there were no substitutes to bring on the team tired as the second-half wore on. The defence of Brunfitt, Pearce and Coldwell battled hard, but three more goals were conceded. The goals were quite scrappy and followed goalmouth scrambles after corners and free-kicks.

Goalkeeper Hayden Robinson had a very busy game. Ilkley did not often look like scoring in the second-half although Adam Benson hit the post late on in the game.

A disappointing result but the team kept their heads up when Mark Coldwell, who took over as captain when Louis Bleazard was injured, set a good example.

Ilkley U-12s 2

K Deighton 'B' 0

ILKLEY Under-12s started their new season with a home game against Kirk Deighton 'B'.

On a windy day it was always going to be difficult for both sides to control the ball. Ilkley started brightly taking the game to Kirk Deighton. Holmes and Blenkhorn were lively up front and soon were putting pressure on the Deighton defence.

A good move by Ilkley saw Gilbert cross and both Blenkhorn and Sharpe just failed to make contact, the ball going just wide with Cowey and Fox winning the possession back for Ilkley. They were in control of the game.

Another cross by Gilbert saw Sharpe shoot but the 'keeper saved easily. Holmes, always lively, ran through the defence only to see a last ditch tackle by the defender stop him from scoring. Deighton were finding it hard to get out of defence and their long balls up field were coming to nothing. Half-time: 0-0.

The second-half saw Ilkley with the wind at their backs looking to find the crucial first goal that their possession deserved. Holmes ran on to a long ball by Cowey and with the defence forcing him wide he shot into the 'keeper's hands.

Chances came and went for Ilkley but with 15 minutes left Blenkhorn finally met a long ball and ran on to beat the 'keeper with a stunning shot. Ilkley now totally on top, got the killer goal when the ball was played to Gilbert and his ferocious shot giving the 'keeper no chance. Ilkley created other chances with good efforts from Holmes and Cowey but were unable to score again.

Ilkley U-15s 1

Amaranth Juns 2

A MIDWEEK 4-1 victory away to Steeton should have set up Ilkley nicely for the weekend's first Harrogate League match. Unfortunately the loss midweek of regular goalkeeper Oliver Soames with a broken leg left Ilkley immediately having to shuffle the pack.

Ilkley started brightly with the wind at their backs and early attempts from James Wilson and Daniel Smith from range were well saved by the visiting goalkeeper. During a half of territorial supremacy Ilkley were content to drift along assuming a goal would come. At the end of a lack-lustre half, it was the visitors who could look back on a good 0-0 scoreline.

A combination of worrying early season injuries and general lack of enthusiasm saw early training sessions on close marking of players wasted.

It was little surprise when a half-hit clearance fell to an unmarked midfielder who sweetly despatched the ball back into the corner of the Ilkley goal. Only good saves by Dale Procter kept Ilkley in the game as Ilkley heads dropped and Amaranth started believing they could grab the vital second goal.

Ilkley swapped things around and against the run of play Ross Kennedy played a quality pass behind the defenders allowing Thomas Davidson to level the scores. At this point the quaility in the Ilkley team should have been good enough to go on to win the game if only the players would work at it when playing below their best. Inevitably lazy defending saw an Ilkley defender five yards deeper than his colleagues on the touchline, thereby playing the opposing forward onside and left with the easiest of match-winning goals.

Manager's Points went to Mat Earnshaw, Mat Holmes and David Tod who will be hoping this team performance is not repeated next week at Calverley.

Sandy Lane A 0

Ilkley A U-9s 0

AS Ilkley began only their second game the team looked a lot more organised. After a steady start Ilkley put on lots of pressure with some good breaks down the right. Wing Stephen Loy made some good clearances in midfield. Some excellent tackles in midfield were made by Harry Appleby, Antony Mitchell and Paul Kehoe came very close to scoring after about 10 minutes.

Sandy Lane then put lots of pressure on resulting in some excellent saves from goalkeeper William Normington. There was some good football played down the right by Anthony Mitchell and Harry Appleby which resulted in Paul Kehow hitting the side netting. There were some great cover tackles by Joe Thompson and Cameron Barrett and also good defending when necessary.

After half-time Ilkley put on more pressure with good shots from Joe Thompson and Harry Appleby. Elliot Green and Stephen Pearce linked up well in the middle of the field. Towards the end of the game Sandy Lane broke clear through but Camerson Barrett tracked back brilliantly to make a superb sliding tackle.

William Normington made another good save from the corner but praise should be given to the whole team for such a good response after last week's defeat. Man-of-the-Match: Cameron Barrett.

Ilkley U-9s B 1

Sandy Lane B 5

FOLLOWING last week's defeat Ilkley's second match saw a more determined team. The first-half saw good attempts from Adam Flynn and Hugh Cross but Ilkley were denied a goal. Constant pressure from Sandy Lane required excellent defensive work from Liam Blackwell, Alex Sinclair and Robert Caddick, who was in goal. However, Sandy Lane took the lead with two goals.

The second-half saw a much more determined Ilkley side following some good team work. The ball was passed by Forrest Hamilton to Robert Chadwick who ran forward with the ball and was rewarded with a goal.

Sandy Lane continued to attack and we saw some good defensive play again from Liam Blackwell, Alex Sinclair and William Atkins. Second-half goalkeeper Matthew Grimes took the pressure well and made a couple of excellent saves.

Sandy Lane, however, were able to claim a further two goals. Having now experienced two matches this Ilkley side look set to continue their marked improvement and look forward to next week's game.

Man- of-the-Match was Robert Caddick.

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