Old Centralians 4 Ilkley Town 1

On a blustery day and on a pitch that was always going to be heavy, Old Centralians taught Ilkley a lesson in how to take your chances.

Ilkley dominated the ball, played the better football but Old Centralians were competitive, tenacious and clinical in front of goal.

The game wasn't for the purists due to the terrible conditions.

From the first set piece of the day Old Centralians swung in a corner which was misjudged by James Hirst,. It looked as if he had got away with the error when the ball ricocheted back into his hands, before it uncharacteristically slipped through his fingers and was nodded in.

Things got worse shortly after when Ilkley's lack of competitiveness saw them surrender possession on the right hand side.

The ball was once again swung in, flicked on and then headed beyond the despairing dive of Hirst.

Ilkley looked unlikely to respond and struggled to get an attempt on target in the entire first half. In contrast, Old Centralians scored from their only two opportunities, and before the end of the half they made it three out of three.

Andy Bloom looked to have the situation under control when a long ball was played down the right before an untimely slip allowed the Old Centralians number nine a free run on goal. He didn't need any second invitation and unleashed a powerful shot into the top corner to make it 3-0.

Ilkley showed more character in the second half and rallied after Connor Greenwood's second goal for the first team. Another effort was cleared off the line and it looked like Ilkley might snatch something if they could find the elusive second goal.

This obviously meant committing men forward and being susceptible to the break. With literally minutes remaining a long ball, a quick break and Old Centralians had scored the fourth and deservedly sealed all three points.

A disappointing result and performance, but Ilkley still have plenty to play for this season and move on to Headingley AFC on Saturday (2pm).