Ilkley Reserves 4

Trojans Reserves 2

Having been beaten by Burley in their opening game of the season Ilkley Reserves sought to atone for their earlier disappointment in this derby game.

With neither side having played for a month due to the recent poor weather, it was unlikely that either side would be able to produce the kind of football they were capable of. However, the game began brightly and at a quick tempo and both sides endured early scares in the first five minutes as first Fendyke tipped over from Keith's shot and then Beaumont cleared Constantine's effort of the line.

Burley ultimately took the lead after ten minutes when a corner was only half cleared as far as Constantine who crossed the ball for Shankland to finish past Taylor with the Ilkley defenders appealing for an off-side decision that never came.

Within two minutes Ilkley were level. Stewart's run down the right was halted and the resulting free-kick from Hey struck the Burley wall before looping over the stranded Fendyke.

Once back on level terms Ilkley saw more possession of the ball and caused Burley problems out on the wings through Hey and Stewart who had a lot of space to run into. Soon after Ilkley took the lead when Smith and Mynett combined for the latter to cross towards Hey who forced the ball past Fendyke into the net.

On the half-hour mark Ilkley added a third when more good work down the left involving Hey, Mark Houlston and Mynett allowed Brad Houlston to run into space. The resulting shot was only half blocked and fortune went Ilkley's way as the ball looped high over Fendyke's head and into the goal.

Ilkley were in a dominant position and were passing the ball well through Brad Houlston and Keith for Stewart and Hey to stretch Burley out wide. Burley through Constantine and Shankland always posed a threat on the break.

After the break Ilkley added a fourth when a Mynett corner from the left was met by a Burley defender whose attempt to clear the ball only resulted in the ball going in the top corner.

Burley battled hard to get back into the game and earned themselves a lifeline when good pressure in Ilkley's defensive third regained possession and enabled Barnard to pass the ball into the bottom corner from 18 yards.

As Burley pushed on to try and get a third goal and an equaliser they inevitably left space for Ilkley to exploit at the back. Consequently Ilkley were able to soak up pressure before breaking with possession through Stewart, Mynett, Keith and Smith. This created several good scoring opportunities for Smith Mynett and later Tod as Ilkley failed to add to their lead and kill their opponents off.

Ultimately this was a deserved win for Ilkey who played the better football for the majority of the game. Stewart and Hey were effective out wide thanks to the efforts of Keith, Mynett and Smith. In defence Ilkley were largely solid and Ashton, Mark Houlston David Taylor and Beaumont all had good games.

l On Saturday Ilkley Reserves face another tough test away at Clifford and Bramham.