Ilkley extend unbeaten home run as they defeat leaders Sheffield

ILKLEY came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders as they defeated the North One East leaders at Stacks Field.

All Christmas cheer was set aside as a substantial crowd witnessed a really gutsy performance from the Dalesmen, who deservedly prevailed in an absorbing encounter to extend their unbeaten home record to 23 matches.

The win nudged the home side up to fifth place and, with locks Steve Burns and Pete Small returning to the fray, the signs are good for a prosperous new year.

Sheffield were the better starters and Ilkley conceded two early penalties, one of which was slotted by centre Leigh Sanders to give the visitors an early lead.

Ilkley’s response was text-book. Tom Collard’s short pass found James Colclough running at pace. The young lock gave a lovely pass to Alastair Monks, who in turn fed JH Johnson, who made the best of the space created to score close enough to the posts for Josh Kimber to add the extras.

Sanders reduced the lead to 7-6 when the home side’s backs strayed offside but these points were nullified when Sheffield held on after the tackle and Kimber’s kick from the 22 was good.

Ilkley were now looking the better side but they were repeatedly penalised by visiting Durham referee Adam Morrison, which led to a talking-to for skipper Stu Vincent.

The remainder of the half was a cut and thrust affair, with both sides doing their level best to penetrate two stout defences. A couple of lost Ilkley line-outs hardly helped the cause, nor did an Ilkley player holding onto the ball after a tackle, which enabled Sanders to reduce the deficit to 10-9.

The second half was a gritty affair which went mostly in Ilkley’s favour. Sheffield centre Gareth Morley saw yellow for a deliberate knock-on following a quickly-taken Ilkley penalty and Kimber landed the resulting kick to stretch the lead.

Ben Magee and Steve Burns replaced Paul Petchey and Colclough as Ilkley looked to take charge. They were rewarded with a second try when Stevie Graham’s predatory instincts set up a fine back move.

He fed Steve Nolson, whose intelligent run and offload to Monks at speed opened up the defence. The veteran centre exchanged passes with Magee before scoring close to the posts. Kimber’s conversion made it 20-9 with a quarter of the game to go.

Despite being in a position of strength, Ilkley lost their composure. They failed to utilise a stream of possession and a wayward pass was intercepted by Sheffield flanker Dave Bradford on the halfway line and he ran in a try in the corner which Sanders converted.

With the visitors back to full strength, they were equal to their hosts and looked the more likely to score. The home defence looked sound though.

But then Ilkley seemed to lose it. Kimber was harshly adjudged to have made a high tackle and was yellow carded and moments later – and somewhat less controversially – Burns was sin-binned for a shoulder charge, at which time the referee indicated there were five minutes left.

The Ilkley supporters could hardly bear to watch as Sheffield contrived to squander two clear overlaps as they enjoyed a two-man advantage.

The game ended when a clearly exasperated Collard hoofed the ball into touch deep into injury time.

Players from both sides were dead on their feet.

For Ilkley it was revenge for the narrow defeat they suffered at Abbeydale in September and was their reward for a tremendous team effort.

lIlkley’s second team completed an excellent and deserved double over Sheffield by winning 20-13 at Abbeydale.

These were two very well matched sides that took to the field and, despite a late arrival and a hasty warm-up, Ilkley came out of the blocks with all guns firing.

They scored early points thanks to Ed Brown’s two penalties and a try by young Sam Smith on the wing.

Sheffield fought back with a very well-organised attack and were relentless in their approach, eventually being rewarded with two tries.

The second half saw more of the same, with Sheffield banging on Ilkley’s door, but their defence held out due to some mighty efforts by the Ahmed brothers, John Pickersgill and John Hutchinson to name but a few.

Ilkley came back and, after some sustained pressure, carved out an opportunity from a good line-out, providing the backs with good possession to put Will Marlow under the posts, converted by Brown.

This was a very good all-round performance by Ilkley and should give them heart to gain more wins in the second half of the season.