Ilkley 28 Knottingley 21

Ilkley won a rip-roaring, full-blooded, cup tie to reach the final of the Yorkshire Shield.

Both sides played their part in providing excellent midweek entertainment for a bumper Stacks Field crowd.

And the Dalesmen can now look forward to facing York in the final at pontefract on Thursday, May 5.

Knottingley opened with a try after Ilkley had been turned twice on the visitors’ line.

Gradually Ilkley hauled them- selves back into the match, first with three penalty goals from Phil Howell.

They followed up with a try scored down the tight side in a well -worked move by Richard Greenfield to make it 14-7. Ilkley Back came Knottingley with a converted try and it was 14-14 at the break.

A great opportunist’s try from skipper Stuart Vincent restored Ilkley’s lead.

His grubber kick was deflected and then popped up for him to hack through and score under the posts.

Knottingley fought back bravely with another converted try to tie the scores at 21-21 before the Dalesmen bagged the winning score through big John Hutchinson with just ten minutes to go.

At 28-21, it was as if all hell was let loose on the Ilkley line as Knottingley threw everything at the Dalesmen.

Unnecessary penalties allowed them into Ilkley’s 22 and there they camped for seemingly the whole of the time remaining.

Knottingley crossed the line once but the excellent referee ruled they were held up, much to the chagrin of their skipper whose remonstrations event- ually earned him a red card after the final whistle to go with the yellow card handed out to one of his colleagues for over-exuberant use of the knee. His indiscretion gifted the Dalesmen a pressure relieving penalty.

It was close, but that’s way semi-finals should be.

Memories flood back, to some at least, of that 1994 final at Waterloo when Ilkley inflicted an unexpected defeat on Doncaster in a nail-biting final winning 9-6.

o Ilkley are running a free supporters bus to the final at Pontefract.

It will leave Stacks Field at approximately 4.30pm. .

To book your place on the bus contact Tom Gillon tg@ilkleyrfc.co.uk