Ilkley Defeated in Feisty Affair
In front of a 145-strong crowd, Ilkley Town AFC fell to a 1-3 defeat against a competitive Wakefield AFC side in a West Yorkshire derby. After a goalless first half, the visitors scored twice before Toby Marriott’s penalty set up a tense finale in which Wakefield scored with the last kick of the game, writes Matt Lambe.
Both sides opened brightly, but it was Wakefield who registered the first proper chance. Akeel Francis was one on one with Tim Edney but was unable to hit the target, giving the Baht’atters an early let off.
At the other end of the MPM Stadium, Luke Baldwin’s acrobatic volley looked destined to find the top corner but a fine save from Wakefield’s Owen Evans kept him at bay, while Kevin Gonzalez’s rebound was blocked.
Chances continued to fall for both sides, as James Nightingale put his body on the line for the team with a brave block inside the six-yard box; moments later, Marriott forced Evans into making another save with his effort from distance.
The momentum of the game swung in the visitors’ favour around the half hour mark after the referee gave Baldwin a sin-bin, leaving Ilkley a man down for the next 10 minutes. However, Ilkley withheld Wakefield’s pressure for the duration of the sin-bin.
Due to the referee whistling for a lot of stoppages, there was at least five minutes of injury time. During this, Baldwin rejoined the field and in the 50th minute of the first half he fired an effort marginally over the bar after receiving Marriott’s pass.
Despite the extension, Ilkley and Wakefield couldn’t be separated at the break, owing to a goalless first half.
The deadlock was broken in the 49th minute when the visitors capitalised on a lapse in concentration. Jay Harris lost possession inside the box, allowing James Eyles to slot home into an open goal.
Wakefield doubled their advantage barely 10 minutes later. A corner was only headed as far as Mason Rubie on the edge of the box, whose drilled strike beat Tim Edney and found the bottom corner.
After conceding the second goal the Baht’atters were on the front foot, as they had to attack instantly in order to stage a comeback. Marriott was brought down inside the box by two Wakefield defenders, but the referee waved away Ilkley’s appeals.
Sam Dexter’s side continued to press forward and Dan Smith’s tackle won possession in the attacking third. He slipped the ball into to Marriott who scored, only for the linesman to disallow the goal.
Ilkley faced a short spell of Wakefield pressure, but successive blocks from Josh Parker and Finn Ellis denied the visitors, while Edney caught two high crosses.
With 15 minutes remaining, Town halved the deficit from the penalty spot. Marriott rounded Evans but was caught by his flailing leg, so the stopper received a yellow card; Ilkley’s talisman dispatched the penalty into the bottom corner, giving the Ilkley faithful hope for a turnaround.
Approaching injury time, substitute Arlo Buller won a free kick near the corner flag and Ilkley sent all defenders bar Maxim Hague into the box. Goalkeeper Evans punched away Jack Lane’s delivery and Wakefield launched a two versus one counter attack, which Hague did excellently to intercept.
With the final action of the game, Wakefield restored their two-goal cushion. The visitors had taken to keeping the ball by the corner flag, but their winger burst into the box and found Eyles who scored from close range.
In the aftermath of the goal, Ellis questioned the linesman about whether Eyles was offside and was sent off.
This left Ilkley a man down and two goals down when the referee blew for full time, making it an afternoon to forget about from Ilkley’s perspective.
Looking to the future, Town have a rare week off as the next fixture isn’t until 10th September, when Ilkley travel to Thackley AFC in the League Cup for a 7 45pm kickoff. Then, the Baht’atters host Worsbrough Bridge Athletic on Saturday 14th September at 3pm.
Photo Credit: Seth Rose Photography