Ilkley Town 1 FC RIASA 1

Ilkley Town will not recall Saturday’s ill-tempered Division One clash with fondness when they reflect on their season.

Many of the Town players already had their minds on Monday night’s Wharfedale & District Cup Final Cup final.

The big talking point came in the final few minutes when Ilkley Town’s player/assistant-manager Frank Carter and RIASA goalkeeper Stuart Devlin were dismissed for fighting.

This led to a five-minute delay as the referee struggled to control a volatile situation.

Prior to this fracas, the game contained few memor- able incidents as Ilkley had the majority of possession and the RIASA players worked hard all over the pitch to deny them time and space.

The blustery conditions created control and passing problems for both teams, and Ilkley were thankful to take the lead after 35 minutes when Darren Munday powered in a header from Joe Hendrie’s corner.

Young striker Adam Fowler had earlier hit the bar with a crisp shot on the turn and Phil Thommesen headed wide at the near-post.

The second-half followed the pattern of the first with Ilkley dominating possession but showing little attacking penetration and RIASA always lively on the counter-attack.

The equaliser was presented to the visitors after 75 minutes when Munday miss-controlled a pass from Ben Dexter and the loose ball ran to Leroy Hickman who blasted a shot past James Hirst from 18 yards.

A typical Ilkley gift that preceded the unfortunate and unnecessary ending to the game.