Howden Clough 0 Ilkley Town 2

IT was a return to action after the previous two games had been postponed due to weather conditions and a welcome victory for Ilkley Town against a hard-working Howden Clough side.

On a calm and sunny December afternoon, the length of grass on the playing surface created difficulties for both sides to generate any quick passing moves.

As a consequence, the long ball into space behind defenders was one of the most troublesome ploys as defenders struggled to turn and clear the ball in the deep turf.

Despite the two-week respite, Ilkley Town were still without some key senior players through injury and illness, enabling Laurie Swan to return to the side at full-back and Danny Henderson make his first start of the season in midfield.

Determined to clamber back towards the top of the league, it was Ilkley who set the pace in the opening exchanges, with Henderson’s pace and Damian Smith’s close control causing problems for Howden in wide positions.

A Henderson free-kick was headed on to the bar by Mark Houlston after 15 minutes, and shortly afterwards a break by Dave Power sent him clear of Laycock and his far post cross was pushed back into the six-yard box by Henderson where the ball stuck under Houlston’s feet as he swivelled to shoot and the Howden goalkeeper parried the ball to safety.

At the other end, a long ball behind Liam Blenkhorn allowed Crowther to race towards the Ilkley penalty area where James Hirst was decisive and brave as he dived at the forward’s feet.

Matt Trimnell made two timely interceptions as the new centre-back pairing of Blenkhorn and Daz Munday took a little time to settle.

A claim for handball from another Henderson free-kick was denied, and Smith drove his right-foot shot wide after cutting in from the left wing, as Ilkley looked to open the scoring following a period of territorial dominance.

With the home side restricted to breakaways, a goal was needed by Ilkley and it thankfully arrived after 35 minutes when Trimnell’s tackle fed the ball to Martin Taylor who sent Henderson racing past Haigh and the low cross was collected by Power who passed to the unmarked Houlston for a tap-in from six yards.

The goal announced a collective sigh of relief from the Ilkley players and a second goal followed minutes later, when James Wilson sent Power running into the penalty area and his low cross to the far post was converted by a sliding Houlston.

A 2-0 half-time lead was the least Ilkley deserved having dominated possession and territory, and Howden’s only likely threat came from Ilkley indecision on the slow running surface. A third goal would have ended the contest and Ilkley managed to squander six clear scoring opportunities in the second-half as the home side struggled to contain the visitors.

Nevertheless, Hirst made a fine point-blank save to thwart Griffiths on the hour as Howden had a five-minute spell of frantic attacking before Ilkley regained control.

Ilkley top-scorer Power had one of those days when whatever he tried didn’t quite get the ball into the back of the net. He saw Howden ’keeper Mellor make fine saves from two one-on-one confrontations, headed over from a Henderson corner and chipped the ball past the onrushing Mellor only for it to be cleared from the goal-line by Laycock.

A terrific run and cross by Henderson saw Smith slice across the ball from 15 yards before substitute Allen Hey broke clear of the home defence and his early shot over Mellor drifted beyond the far-post.

With Trimnell and Swan shackling the Howden wide-players, Ilkley dominated the majority of the second-half and some fortunate offside decisions helped Howden keep the score at 2-0. This was a workmanlike performance by Ilkley players on a difficult and sapping pitch that restricted midfield invention and any chance of a high tempo game.