Leeds Modernians 1 Ilkley Town 2

ILKLEY Town maintained their hold on second place in the West Yorkshire League Division One with a hard-earned win at Cookridge which saw them play for 50 minutes with only ten men.

The visitors had the edge in the early exchanges but the closest they came to scoring was in the 20th minute when Adam Davey was unable to convert from close range with a half volley.

Modernians came close to delivering a sucker punch on the counter attack. First a through ball sent Ben Turner clear and he dribbled round Ilkley keeper Alex Wormall before firing his shot against a post.

Minutes later Wormall produced a spectacular save to push a long-range shot around a post.

saved and pushed around the post for a corner.

There was a double setback for Ilkley in the 40th minute when Darren Munday was sent off for preventing a goalscoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball. Turney coolly slotted home the penalty.

Half-time brought about a tactical change with James Barker making way for club captain Daniel Bott. It didn't take Bott long to have an impact on the game with a long-range effort flying just off target.

Ilkley started to build momentum and were working really hard for each other. On the hour a fine challenge from Bott led to a passing move down the right which ended with Richard Schofield's cross being turned into his own net by a Modernians player.

Ilkley took the lead soon after when they won a free kick 35 yards out. Bott's shot was parried by the Mods keeper but Richard Schofield was on hand to put the rebound in.

Schofield had a chance to make the game safe but he shot over the bar when he was put clear by a fine pass from Adam Davey.

Numerous more chances followed but Ilkley couldn't find a third goal and Mods nearly managed to nick a draw with a half chance minutes before full time but the ball went wide of the target.