Ilkley Cruise to Victory

Ilkley 3-0 Shelley

Ilkley Town AFC brought their supporters some pre festive cheer with a comfortable victory over Shelley, writes Evan Seaman.

The Baht’tatters clinched the win with three-second half goals from Josh Parker, Eliel Maville-Anku and Jack Lane.

The visitors got off to the best possible start and won a free kick on the edge of the area inside ten minutes but Ilkley are able to clear their lines.

The weather was going against both sides though as the wind was starting to pick up which made it difficult for them to find their rhythm.

When the second half started, Ilkley burst out the blocks and broke the deadlock after a goalmouth scramble and Hague bundled the ball over the line.

Maville-Anku then doubled their lead as his strike hits the top corner after dribbling around the visitors’ defence.

This wound the Shelley management up as they were then booked for dissent.

Not long before the end of the game, Snowden received possession inside the box before slotting the ball into the bottom corner to round off the victory nicely.

Ilkley manager Sam Dexter said: 

“Today was an excellent win in horrendous conditions. The game was played in one half of the pitch for the majority of the game due to the high winds and it was purely a case of who could deal with the conditions the best. Fortunately for us, we managed to take our chances and to keep a clean sheet was an outstanding effort from the players.”

The result leaves Ilkley in seventh, just three points off the playoffs, whereas Shelley languish in fourteenth.

Photo credit: Paul Di Mambro