Ilkley 66 Bradford Salem 7
PLUCKY Salem were blown away by a stylish Ilkley side in this rather one-sided victory to take them into yet another Aire-Wharfe Cup final.
The Dalesmen will face Otliensians at Chaffers Field, Otley on Tuesday April 25th (6.30pm).
By the time the outstanding Nick Fontaine had found a way over the Ilkley try line after a great burst by Chris Clough, Salem were 31 points adrift.
The tone was set early on when Ed Brown spotted a hole in defence and Charles Ramsey took the pin-point pass to score.
Hooker Luke Spauls crashed over after Charlie Scott had made a great break before scrum half Blake Morgan scored the first of his five tries after more good work from brown.
A lovely move from a penalty put Luke Freer clear for a try before Tom Milner went over to stretch the lead to 31-0.
Salem opened their account but the elation of the vocal support was short-lived.
Andy Malley and Milner combined to set up Morgan to make it 38-7 at the break.
Morgan cashed in on good work of Jonny Yale and Ramsey to complete his hat-trick before Freer took advantage of a gift from Salem.
Morgan wasn't finished and added two further tries. A delightful chip and chase saw him outpace the Salem cover to score before pouncing from the back of a well-won ruck.
This was a solid display by an Ilkley side with a good mixture of youth and experience with several future first team contenders.
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