Preview vs Pilkington
Ilkley Town AFC will be hoping for a repeat of the reverse fixture against high-flying Pilkington when they face them this Tuesday night at the MPM Stadium, writes Evan Seaman.
Reverse fixture
Last time these two sides met this season at the Arcroframe Stadium on the 28th January 2023 it turned out to be a thrilling encounter.
The Baht’atters came from behind twice to eventually beat them 3-2 in what could be a defining moment for Ilkley’s season.
The goal scorers for Ilkley in that game were George Gomersall and Kevin Gonzalez as well as an own goal, so they will be looking to play to their strengths when they face Pilkington next week.
Recent form
Sam Dexter’s side have dipped in form recently, after dropping points against Darwen and Euxton Villa despite taking the lead in both games.
However, they have not conceded too many goals since they let two in against Pilkington, so they have at least tightened up the defence.
But they haven’t scored too many either in the last six games and the last time they scored more than two goals in a game was in fact against Pilkington again so they will be hoping to revert to how they were playing a few weeks ago.
Opposition
Whereas for Pilkington, they have been in decent form since losing to Ilkley and have managed to pick up three clean sheets in that time.
They also picked up an impressive 3-0 victory away to Garstang last week and are flying high at the top of the table with a game in hand, so will be tough to beat.
Players to watch
One of the key players for Ilkley is undoubtedly Matthew Swift who has been instrumental in the team’s defence this season and has picked up an impressive four MOTM awards so far.
However, if Ilkley are to get a result they will need to watch out for Bruno De Almeida Severino who has managed an incredible six MOTM awards so far.
(Photo Credit: Paul O’Brien)