Report by: Evan Seaman

ON a chilly Saturday afternoon, Ilkley Town snatched a point off league leaders match FC St Helens to keep them well within the playoff race.

Before the game kicked off, there was a minute’s silence on Armistice Day which was impeccably observed by everyone at the MPM Limited Stadium.

After the first 15 minutes, the game was still goalless despite Ilkley having the majority of possession.

But then the visitors had an opportunity to break the deadlock when skipper Harry Brown was booked for a foul inside the box, but St Helens could not convert their penalty as the ball went well wide of the net.

In the second half, the away side carried on pushing for the first goal of the game and were awarded another penalty, much to the frustration of the Ilkley players.

And this time St Helens did make the score 1-0 when Josh Hall came off the bench to put the visitors in front.

However, The Baht’atters were not finished yet and got back on level terms when a ball was floated into the box and defender George Pearson was there to put them back into the game with not long left on the clock.

And Ilkley held on to grab a vital point which will surely give Sam Dexter’s a massive boost of confidence for the rest of the season.

In terms of the table, Ilkley have moved up to fourth in the playoff places, whereas St Helens remain in top position for now, but they will be disappointed to have dropped points this weekend.

Coincidently, Ilkley will play St Helens again next week when they travel to their ground in Liverpool, the same place where they lost on penalties in the playoff semi-final last campaign so they will be itching to set the record straight.

Next up for Town is a home fixture with Route One Rovers on Saturday.