Kirk Deighton U-9s 0, Ilkley U-9s Yellows 3

You may notice some 8 and 9-year-old lads walking 12 inches taller around Ilkley this week, so they should. All the players in the Under-9 squad have done the town proud this season.

On Sunday at Kirk Deighton, in glorious sunshine, and against the one side who could still have overtaken them, the yellow squad rose to the occasion to produce this decisive victory.

The match started at a furious pace and intensity. Ilkley rode their luck at times in a backs to the wall defensive performance. Sam Walker gave a heroic performance in one of his best displays for the team, while George Grant gave a typically commanding powerful and composed performance. In midfield Callum Bott, tackled as though his life depended upon it and broke up countless home attacks.

Having weathered the initial storm Ilkley began to launch attacks of their own and midway through the half took the lead. Jake Norton, who worked tirelessly throughout helped lay the ball to Nick Jenkinson who drove the ball joyfully into the net. Ilkley hung onto this narrow lead to the break, although they had scares when a fierce Kirk Deighton shot cannoned off the crossbar and another glanced of the outside of the post.

The second-half began in the same vein, with Ilkley defending well and attacking on the break. William Marshall, who worked as hard as anyone and always buys the team time with his control on the ball, fed James Crowther who slipped his defender and fired home to double Ilkley's lead.

Still Kirk Deighton tried hard to get back into the match .The nearest they came being a through on goal, bravely saved by Edward Bullock at the feet of the onrushing attacker. From the subsequent goal clearance, a sublime piece of skill by James Crowther turned his defender and was only thwarted by a last ditch tackle. The third goal for Ilkley soon followed though, when Nick Jenkinson, who's long range shooting and passing adds such an important element for the team fired home to settle any nerves.

At the final whistle the players from both Ilkley squads joined together to celebrate with chants of champions and champagne corks popped on the touchline.

All the players who have turned out for both squads deserve a lot of credit for what they have achieved this season and now with the cup semi-final coming up lets hope they can make this a season of double success

Kirk Deighton U-9s 2, Ilkley U-9s Blues 1

Ilkley came into this last league match of the season knowing that just one point from either the Blues or the Yellows against Kirk Deigh-ton would be enough to secure the championship.

On a hard and fast surface the Blues' game opened at a frenetic pace and it was obvious that the home side were well worth their second place spot when some quick passing created an opening for a fiercely hit shot which was well saved by Edward

Brown, only for the ball to be headed in after momentarily go-ing loose. Several times this season the Blues have turned games around from this position and they set about playing in a way that suggested they would do the same again.

As he has so often this season, William Driver ran the game from all over the park, making some scintillating runs from the back, and combining well with Roam Hamilton and Sam Akroyd to creating openings for strikers

Fred Atkinson and Oliver Moulton. Cameron Lawson was brought on after the interval with the job of keeping the opponents' talented striker in check and not only succeeded in that task, but very nearly scored.

With Matty Webb and George Gamble looking as solid as ever in a defence that had conceded just a miserly five goals in the previous nine league matches, the Blues played some great football in the second-half and certainly looked the better side in a very competitive game

After going close with a free-kick curled around the wall which brought a great save from the 'keeper, and with just a couple of minutes left, leading goal scorer Fred Atkin-son, eventually struck a low drive in the net for the well deserved equaliser, his 18th goal of the season. Sadly, though, a loss of concentration with seconds remaining denied the Blues an unbeaten record in the league as Kirk Deighton nipped in to score.