OTLEY Town have strengthened their bid for promotion from Division Two of the West Yorkshire League.

They beat visitors Newsome 4-0, thus handing the newcomers only their second league defeat of the season as the hosts climbed from fourth to second.

Otley had been beaten 5-1 in the reverse fixture but were outstanding in the return, despite third-placed Newsome having the better of the early play.

The deadlock was broken on the half-hour mark when intricate link-up play by Luke Stainthorpe and Harry Leigh led to two desperate blocks on the line before the timely arrival into the box of Liam Dixon, who smashed the ball home.

Town started the second half where they had left off in the first, pressing Newsome hard on what was a heavy Showground pitch.

It became 2-0 on the hour when Bobby Neesham stepped up the gears to run though on goal and finish neatly in the bottom corner.

With Leigh and Jonathan Unwin working hard all game to keep Newsome's pacy wingers at bay, while captain Rick Parry and Steve Lisgo were equally diligent in defence, Dixon made it 3-0 in the 75th minute, again arriving late in the box.

Mitchell Lambert-Tuthill, Dixon and young Callan Wells formed a splendid trio in the engine room and striker Dan Petty scored the final goal ahead of his side's Wharfedale & District FA Challenge Cup semi-final against Horsforth St Margaret's this weekend.

In the Premier Division, 11th-placed Field were edged out 5-4 at Robin Hood Athletic, while third-placed Ilkley Town suffered a bad 1-0 defeat at Hall Green United, who were 12th.

Rawdon Old Boys climbed one spot to second after a 4-1 home victory over Boroughbridge in Division One.

Craig Nicholls (2), Darren Nicholls and Oliver Nightingale were Rawdon's marksmen against their sixth-placed visitors.

James Acton and Karl Fawcett were on target for Wyke Wanderers, who are fifth, in their 2-1 home win over seventh-placed Wetherby Athletic.

Oxenhope Rec remain 11th despite a 5-1 win at Altofts, who were just below them in the table, while next-to-bottom Howden Clough beat basement boys Brighouse Old Boys 3-0.

In Alliance Division One, second-placed Field capitulated in the second half at third-placed Beeston St Anthony's, going from 2-0 behind at the interval to losing 7-1, while Oxenhope Rec went down 3-0 at home to fourth-placed Leeds City.

Hunslet Club won 2-0 at Pool while, in Alliance Division Two, Ilkley Town dropped from third to fifth on the back of a 3-2 home defeat to Kirk Deighton Rangers, one of two clubs to overtake them.