Ilkley Town 2 Howden Clough 0

ALTHOUGH some fixtures failed to survive the Friday night downpour, the pitch at Ben Rhydding was in excellent condition for the visit of Howden Clough on Saturday.

The first half was disappointing as both teams surrendered possession far too easily. Howden were playing a direct and aggressive style. They had pace out wide and down the middle which caused problems all afternoon.

Ilkley showed occasional glimpses of attractive football but they were few and far between. It was no real surprise when the game reached half-time still goalless.

The second half started like the first, however by the 50th minute Ilkley were ahead. The goal, like the game was incredibly scrappy. Danny Bott whipped in a corner and though Darren Munday missed his header the ball rebounded back to him off a defender and he was able to literally bundle it into the net. It wasn't pretty but they all count and it gave Ilkley the edge.

Howden Clough attempted to respond by changing their formation and adding extra energy to their game. They were a danger from set pieces all afternoon and on more than one occasion were guilty of missing from close range in a goalmouth scramble.

In the 70th minute the pacey Howden winger found himself clear with just the goalkeeper to beat only to completely miscue his effort over the bar.

Howden were punished for their missed chances in the 80th minute when Ilkley were awarded a free kick. Ben Dexter swung the ball into the front post where it was met by Ross Hutchison who headed the ball past the goalkeeper to make it 2-0.

The game now became stretched and with a little more quality Ilkley should have added to their tally. The converse was also true as the coaching and management staff were keen to keep a clean sheet.

Overall it was a poor team performance from Ilkley but they were able to win ugly and keep a clean sheet, which is a huge positive. Other positives included Hutchison's first goal of the season, Dexter's first man of the match accolade of the season and a starting front line with an average age of 17.

Ilkley will be looking for revenge when they host Old Modernians on Saturday. The Cookridge-based side defeated them 7-2 in the League Cup earlier in the season.