All Square In High-Scoring U23s Draw

 

 

On a wet and cold night, Ilkley Town u23s played out an entertaining draw against 10 RIASAdespite the visitors playing with 10 men for most of the second half, writes Evan Seaman.

The match started off evenly, with both teams having their fair share of the ball but struggledto create many clear-cut chances.

But then the game sprang into action when RIASA’s no 5 broke the deadlock when he found the ball inside the box after a bit of a scramble before curling it into the bottom corner.

Ilkley nearly responded almost immediately when Kevin Gonzalez got on the end of a whipped cross before going for goal but the keeper somehow managed to parry the ball away for a corner.

At the start of the second half Ilkley had a chance to get themselves back into the game when they won a penalty for a professional foul, and Gonzalez made no mistake as he comfortably dispatched the ball from the spot.

It didn’t take long for Ilkley u23s to score again when Gonzalez muscled off the last defender in the box before blasting the ball home to make the score 2-1.

There were some ugly scenes when RIASA’s no 5 was sent off for lashing out at one of Ilkley’s players.

However, that did not stop them from getting something as they kept on pushing and got a late equaliser to make the score 2-2 in this topsy turvy game.

This proved to be the final action of the game as the opening game of the season ended with both teams getting a point apiece.