Ilkley women concede late goal against Harrogate Town women

Ilkley Town 1 - 2 Harrogate 

After a cagey friendly affair on Thursday night, Ilkley Town AFC women eventually lost due to a late winner by the visitors despite the hosts putting up a close fight right up until the end, writes Evan Seaman.

Harrogate burst out of the blocks and got the opening goal after about five minutes when they found their way inside the penalty area and blasted it into the bottom left corner to put them 1-0 up.

After 15 minutes, Ilkley were controlling possession but struggled to make any kind of entry into the opposition half, and neither team were creating many chances that really threatened the goalkeepers.

Then on the stroke of half time, pacy forward Isabelle Armstrong blasted it into the net from close range to make it all square just before the break which set up the second half nicely.

But the game fell flat in the second half, and both sides appeared to be content with a draw, up until late on when Ilkley’s keeper was caught off guard outside the box and the ball looped over into the net.

During the match, unfortunately there was one unfortunate incident where a Harrogate player went down injured and ended up being forced off the pitch.

Although the result is not ideal, they should be pleased with the way they have performed against a superior side in Harrogate Town.

This will be good preparation when they begin their season at the beginning of next month.