Ilkley 3 Lymm 10

A MISERABLE afternoon at Stacks Field dished up a dismal result for the Dalesmen as they suffered a home defeat to a mediocre Lymm side.

Injury was added to insult as winger Ricky Palacio was stretchered off with a broken ankle. There were many other minor injuries to players on both sides and it was almost dark by the time referee Adam Carter blew for time.

Ilkley started well enough and earned a penalty on the Lymm 10 metre line.

Skipper Joe Rowntree opted for a kick to touch rather than take the three points on offer and Ben Magee obliged with a pin-point punt. Ilkley then lost the first of many line-outs and the chance was gone.

Still battling away in the Lymm half, Rowntree broke and fed the supporting Pat Power. Lymm offended at the ruck on the 22 and Rowntree again opted for a kick to touch, and once again the line-out malfunctioned

Ilkley were marginally the better side but Billy Hickson had to be replaced by Jake Waring and five minutes later, Josh Cockerham had to retire with a head injury, Chris Blackhall taking the field.

Lymm’s first threat came when scrum-half Adam Davies rifled a kick into touch in the Ilkley22 . Another lost line-out meant that Ilkley had to defend as if their lives depended on it to keep their line intact.

Then came the Palacio injury leading to a further reshuffle of the already disjointed Ilkley side.

The stalemate was finally broken on the half hour, when Ilkley conceded a penalty 30m out. Winger Cormac Nolan drilled his kick over to put his side 3-0 up.

Back came Ilkley with two forward rumbles over the Lymm line which referee Carter deemed to have been held up.

An accidental offside gave Lymm the chance to clear, but the subsequent throw-in was not straight and another chance was gone.

Lacking nothing in the endeavour department, Ilkley’s start to the second half looked promising, but more problems in the line-out and a knock-on led to an attacking scrum for Lymm. A well-executed forwards’ rumble produced a try which Nolan converted for a 10-0 lead.

With their tails up and with yet another Ilkley player succumbing to injury, Lymm’s pack started to boss the scrums and only some heroic tackling prevented a further score. Off went J-H Johnson to be replaced by a much-bandaged Cockerham, who had to go to number eight.

Rowntree had a pot at goal from just inside the Lymm half, but his effort drifted wide and his side had then to endure another ten minutes of intense pressure, before relief came.

Ilkley managed to create some pressure of their own and with ten minutes to play in the descending gloom, Rowntree’s boot finally brought Ilkley back into the game at 10-3.

Lymm’s kick-off went straight out and there was just the faintest feeling that Ilkley could get something from this match. Ilkley duly won the scrum, but possession was kicked away and the remaining few minutes see-sawed, with both sides coming close to making a telling break, but neither actually achieving one.

Ilkley just ran out of time, as a draw would have been a satisfactory outcome to what had been a poor game. Too much possession was squandered and despite all the hard work in training, the line-outs simply didn’t function.

Not a day to savour and with the Dalesmen now in the wrong half of the table, the remaining matches before Christmas are taking on a greater significance, with Morley and Stockport at home and Kendal and Hull away.