Ilkley 17 Rossendale 24

ILKLEY’S first win of 2017 was put on hold yet again as the Dalesmen succumbed to a powerful Rossendale side.

The Lancastrians currently lie second in National League Three North behind unbeaten Huddersfield – Ilkley’s next opponents.

A valuable losing bonus point was secured though and boy, was ever a side worth it. Ilkley tackled their hearts out and very nearly scraped a draw, which no one would have begrudged them.

But in the end, a 24-17 defeat was recorded and Ilkley are still a not very comfortable ninth in the table.

Stacks Field alternated from mud-bath to glue-pot – not exactly the preferred playing surface for the home side’s backs and this no doubt affected the performance of both sides.

The conditions did favour the visitors’ big, heavy pack and it was this distinct edge that gave Rossendale their victory, all their three tries coming from pushovers.

Ilkley started well and within ten minutes, some smart interplay between forwards and backs resulted in a try for stand-in skipper Elliot Morgan. His brother Charles added the extras from under the sticks.

Rossendale responded well and when Ilkley were forced into conceding a penalty, Steve Nutt went for touch. A classic catch and drive resulted in a try for captain Dominic Moon, Nutt then slotting the goal. To make it 7-7.

The next Ilkley attack foundered when the ball was lost in the tackle close to the line and Rossendale cleared to 15m. Ilkley won their line-out and when Rossendale infringed at the breakdown, Charles Morgan put his side ahead 10-7.

Looking distinctly rattled at Ilkley’s upfront approach, No. 8 Ryan McKibbin saw yellow for a deliberate knock-on and from Ben Magee’s penalty, Ilkley found themselves just 20m from the goal-line. Unfortunately the line-out was lost and Rossendale countered.

A speculative kick ahead was spilled by Ilkley. The resulting scrum collapsed three times, with Ilkley’s Ollie Holtam getting a warning and Josh Cockerham picking up a head injury, before Moon scored from the fourth reset and Nutt added the conversion.

Both sides were making weather-related errors, but the tackling remained ferocious. Ilkley had a couple of line-outs to capitalise on, one lost and one won, but there was no further score in the first half.

Another lively start from the Dalesmen came to nought A superb Magee kick took his side into the opposition half, but hesitancy in the centre stymied the move. The Ilkley full-back then made a try-saving tackle to halt one of the few good moves by the visiting backs.

In the set pieces, Ilkley were under the cosh and conceded another pushover try, this time from replacement Tom Allen. This was a cruel blow for the Dalesmen and at 21-10 down, even a losing bonus point looked to be in doubt.

Despite losing a line-out, Ilkley regained possession and mounted another attack. This was brought to an abrupt halt with a high tackle by Moon who was yellow carded by referee Pete Stentiford.

Ilkley took full advantage and a super team effort allowed Elliot Morgan to score a well-deserved second. Joe Rowntree’s conversion reduced the deficit to 21-17 and it was game on.

The remaining ten minutes or so were highly entertaining. For the first half of this game within a game, the visitors cranked up their scrummaging to another level and were rewarded with a penalty under the posts that Nutt converted.

The last five minutes were all Ilkley’s and it was Rossendale’s turn to defend, but the home side could not find the execution they needed.

There can be no complaints whatsoever about this performance. The league programme has not quite reached crunch time, but the Dalesmen really do need to get a couple of wins to bolster confidence and ensure survival.

Playing with this verve and self-belief should mean that this goal is attainable and a third season in this tough league can be nailed on.