Ilkley Exit the Cup Despite Valiant Performance
In the Second Round of the League Cup, Ilkley Town AFC agonisingly lost 3-2 to a competitive Thackley AFC side. The Baht’atters staged a remarkable comeback – despite facing a team in the league above and with goalkeeper Matt Keen sent off – thanks to Lewin Storton and Alfie Dean’s quick-fire goals, but a last minute winner ultimately saw Thackley progress, writes Matt Lambe.
The first shot on target fell for the Baht’atters, with Luke Baldwin testing Thackley goalkeeper Luke Wilson after only four minutes. He received the ball on the edge of the box following Dan Smith’s mazy dribble, but his first time effort was at the keeper.
In the following half hour, the match was largely even and played at a high tempo, meaning chances were frequent for both sides. Kevin Gonzalez was tackled just before shooting, while at the other end Thackley’s Tawheed Ahmed put his effort wide from point blank range.
Thackley pushed forward once more and ex-Ilkley player Nathan Hunt nearly broke the deadlock from a corner. During a goalmouth scramble, he reached the ball first and shot inches over.
In injury time of the first half, the dynamic of the game was changed immeasurably as the referee decided to send goalkeeper Keen off for a late challenge on the edge of the box. This left Ilkley a man down for the remaining 45 minutes against higher league opposition, with Gonzalez as stand-in goalkeeper.
Mercifully, the resulting Thackley free kick was curled wide, ensuring the tie was level at the break.
Sam Dexter’s side played with admirable determination throughout the second half, evident in how Ilkley looked to attack immediately in the second half to surprise Thackley. This almost succeeded as Baldwin was brought down inside the box, but the referee waved away appeals for a penalty.
Thackley capitalised on their man advantage, taking the lead in the 51st minute. Ahmed made amends for his earlier miss by scoring a lob from distance, which dipped just in time to float under the crossbar and into the top corner.
The hosts looked for a second in quick succession and were only denied by Ilkley’s brave defending, which kept the deficit at one. Jay Harris crucially blocked a goal-bound effort before heading clear the subsequent corner, while Smith’s resilient tracking back thwarted a Thackley counter-attack.
However, Thackley were able to double their advantage, courtesy of substitute Ben Bodle rifling the ball across goal to find the bottom corner, leaving Ilkley only 20 minutes to find two goals while a man down.
Sam Dexter’s side responded brilliantly, halving the deficit five minutes later. Lewin Storton broke the offside trap to receive a deft through ball on the edge of the box before beating Wilson with a powerful strike, giving the travelling Ilkley faithful a glimmer of hope.
Within two minutes of pulling a first goal back, Ilkley had managed to draw level approaching the final 10 minutes. Dean had only been on the pitch for five minutes in his first game since rejoining from Tadcaster Albion and had already made an impact. On the left wing, he beat Thackley’s right back for pace and weaved into the box, then forced his attempt past Wilson to restore parity.
Ilkley desperately defended as the game entered injury time and Gonzalez proved his worth in goal. He claimed a flurry of high crosses ahead of oncoming attackers and made a fine stop with his boot to deny Ben Grech-Brooksbank.
Heartbreakingly, Grech-Brooksbank converted a one on one deep into injury time. He was the first to reach a long ball pumped forward and he guided the ball into the bottom corner, leaving Ilkley requiring another goal to force a penalty shootout with mere seconds remaining.
Ilkley registered one final chance, as a set-piece was only headed as far as Joe Snowden, whose half volley was close to finding the top corner.
This proved to be the game’s final action, meaning Ilkley exit the League Cup in the Second Round but have plenty of positives to take from such a valiant display.
Following the match, Dexter said, ‘immense character and resilience from the players to get ourselves back in it…and to score two really good goals’.
Next up, Town have consecutive home games in the NCEL: they host Worsbrough Bridge Athletic on Saturday 14th September before welcoming Appleby Frodingham to the MPM Stadium the following Saturday.