ILKLEY Town warmed up for this weekend's opening game of the season with a 3-1 win at Grassington United in their final friendly.

Nicc Hewitt, Tom Fleming and Robert Crawley all scored for Town the away win as they had three players making their debut and seven who were aged 22 years and under in the squad.

Ilkley kick off their new campaign in West Yorkshire League Premier Division on Saturday with a trip to face newly-promoted Newsome at the Westgate Barbers Arena (2.30pm kick-off).

In their physical encounter at Grassington, Ilkley were without 16 first-team players for this clash.

Charlie George, making only his second appearance for the Town first team, was strong in the centre of the pitch.

Town took the lead on 20 minutes through a Hewitt header following a corner.

It only took Grassington seven minutes to equalise through a header from one of their defenders.

From here the game was a tough physical encounter with both teams making some robust challenges.

Ilkley restored their lead on 37 minutes in a move involving Tom Smith and George Gomersall which was finished off by Fleming.

The warm conditions seemed to affect both teams during the second period as both teams started to tire and more mistakes occurred.

The second half saw both teams start to literally feel the heat as both teams started to tire and more mistakes begin to occur.

But Town were fitter than their hosts and it started to show as the half entered the final quarter.

Ben Atkinson skipped through the Grassington back line, only just denied by a last ditch tackle to stop him.

Ilkley scored their third when Crawley's strike was deflected into the bottom corner by a Grassington defender.