Ilkley felled in Gateshead by the one that got away

Another long trip up the A1 proved fruitless for the Dalesmen as the wind, the wrong end of some refereeing decisions in the second half and some unfathomable decision making conspired to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in this North One East encounter.

Gateshead still look the most likely to join Ilkley and one other in the relegation slots but, in truth, for much of this game the Dalesmen had the upper hand and looked outstandingly the better side.

They should have had the match put to bed in the first half-hour when they were all over their hosts like a rash and Gateshead simply did seem to have turned up.

They went ahead with a well-engineered try which followed two line-outs deep inside Gateshead’s 22. The second one was well taken by the ultra-reliable Dan Wright, who was driven over for the try.

Peter Shanks slotted a difficult kick, drifting it in on the wind to establish a thoroughly deserved 7-0 lead.

Prior to the try they had two great chances. The first, a superb break by skipper Stuart Vincent which, in more confident times he would have finished off himself. It ended in a loose pass to the wing, which just eluded the hands of Shanks.

The second seemed to all intents to be a certain score as Ilkley’s rampant forwards were stopped just short of the line. One more phase and they were over.

However, somehow they were stripped of the ball and Gateshead escaped.

After the first try, Chad Shepherd was through but his pass was knocked down by the retreating Gateshead defence to allow them to escape again. Shanks had also missed a penalty shot which, in less blowy conditions, would have been nailed on.

Phil Howells and Shanks were making fine use of the wind with telling kicks, and Gateshead had little to offer in the face of the Ilkley onslaught.

Their only major problem was winning their line-out ball. This shortcoming let the home side off on far too many occasions. The wind and the reliability of Wright dictated use of the front of the line-out.

A second try followed an intelligent and probing chip through from Shepherd, which produced a five-metre scrum.

The scrum was well won and spun wide for Shepherd to find Shanks on the wing. It was a walk-in formality for Shanks to go over from 15 metres and Ilkley were ahead 12-0 half an hour into the match.

A fine tackle stopped Ilkley going over again, but strangely that seemed to turn the game. Gateshead landed a penalty when Josh Cockerham was yellow carded and the referee seemed to be against Ilkley in the second half.

An Ilkley line-out error led to Gateshead’s Lewis Carr scoring and, although Shanks landed apenalty to make it 15-8, Gateshead were level when Jonny Charlton drover over for a try, Cartner converting.

A try and a penalty followed for the hosts. Ilkley must now concentrate on hosting Old Crossleyans on Saturday.