THERE are games you should win, games you could win and games you must win, this being one of the latter for Ilkley.

With the Dalesmen languishing second from bottom and newly-promoted Selby just one place above them, both sides had their work cut out to avoid a conversation about relegation before the Christmas decorations went up.

On the day, it was Ilkley who prevailed, raising their game in the last quarter to inflict a 52-27 defeat on the visitors, who competed in lively fashion throughout.

The Dalesmen welcomed back Adam Booth after a brief spell at Leeds Tykes and his presence gave the back row some extra bite. The half-backs, Ed Brown and Matty Sheard combined well, allowing Captain and inside centre Charles Morgan plenty of time and space to Marshall the rest of the backs to great effect.

Morgan also had a good day with his kicking, slotting two penalties, four conversions and a beautifully struck drop-goal, a rare sight these days.

It took just two minutes to get the scoreboard ticking over, a combination of Booth and Morgan setting up a well-taken try by full-back Jordan Cummins in the corner. The conversion went wide.

The first of rather too many penalties again Ilkley allowed the visitors their first foray into the Ilkley half, earning a scrum from which scrum-half Archie Bennet dummied and went over, allowing Henry Wright an easy conversion, putting his side into the lead.

A Morgan penalty found touch 5m out and a good line nearly led to a try, but at least they got the put-in at the scrum. Good hands down the three-quarter line and Harry Harrison with no space at all managed to get the ball down for Ilkley’s second. No conversion, but Ilkley were back in the lead at 10-7 with 15 minutes gone.

Selby were quick to respond though and when a Morgan clearance kick was charged down, the visitors got the luck of the bounce and wingman Adam Infante took full advantage to score. Wright’s conversion attempt was sliced though.

The ding-dong nature of the match continued apace and when Selby knocked on in a line-out Ilkley were awarded the scrum.

Another fine handling display saw Ben Walker score wide out right and this time, Morgan’s kick was a peach - 17-12 with a quarter of an hour still to play in the first half.

Ilkley’s next scrum was mightily impressive, driving their opponents backwards, but somehow Selby broke free and made 50m down the right wing.

A couple of penalties went their way too, but the Ilkley defence held firm and when they finally did break out, Selby offended and complained about it a little too vocally. The extra ten metres allowed Morgan to kick the penalty.

This was nullified two minutes later when the Ilkley backs strayed offside, and Wright kicked the goal to make it 20-15 at half-time.

The Dalesmen started the second half in similar fashion to the first, winning an early scrum. Harrison’s searing run and some great handling in the backs gave Matty Sheard his chance, eagerly taken and whilst there was no conversion, Ilkley were now ten points ahead.

But as is so often the case, a prompt counter attack by the visitors was halted illegally and Brown saw yellow. A quick tap and there was Infante on hand to score Selby’s third, well converted by Wright to reduce Ilkley’s lead to just three points.

There followed another penalty for Morgan and then as the game entered its last quarter, Morgan executed a soaring drop-goal, bisecting the uprights perfectly.

With Brown back on, another strong Ilkley scrum allowed a nice pop pass to replacement Will Addyman, whose audacious dummy earned the try, with Morgan converting.

Selby’s response was effective, showing admirable tenacity whilst being 16 points behind and on their next assault on the Ilkley lines, the home side simply ran out of defenders allowing centre James Bramley to go over in the corner for a deserved bonus point try. Wright’s kick hit the post and that was it for the day for the visitors.

Ilkley though were not finished, notching another two converted tries in the last ten minutes. First Ben Walker scorched over for his second after yet more great handling and to ice the cake, a knock-on by Selby was hacked through and lock Jack Hamilton charged through to flop on the ball for Ilkley’s 7th try.

So, an attractive, entertaining game with Ilkley looking more like their normal selves and playing the full 80 minutes, duly rewarded. The win takes them up two places, above Blaydon, Selby and struggling Alnwick - a much more respectable position to be in.

This week is away at York, not usually a happy hunting ground for the Dalesmen, but after today’s win, plus York’s losing at Heath, there is no reason that Ilkley cannot continue their improvement.