IAN Wildman collected his fifth Craven FA Cup winners medal when he lifted the Slater Marchant trophy after Ingleton's 2-0 win over Barnoldswick Park Rovers at Settle United on Friday.

The North Lancashire League side were seeking to retain the trophy they first won in 1980 and while their East Lancashire League opponents fought gallantly throughout, they never really carried the attacking threat to give Wildman and his defensive colleagues too many alarms.

In fact Ian Kellett in the Ingleton goal had only one shot of real menace to deal with, a well-struck effort from Ian Livesey after 57 minutes which Kellett did well to turn over the cross-bar.

The game was 42 minutes old when Rovers managed their first decent strike and then Steve Turner, one of the more accomplished players on the pitch, saw his shot fly over the target.

Otherwise, Barnoldswick were largely consigned to defensive duties as Ingleton dominated proceedings territorially and caused plenty of problems with their superior height and strength, especially at set-piece situations.

Chris Bibby went close after six minutes following good work on the left by Terry Joel and Lee Dodgson, but despite the pressure, Ingleton had to wait until the 26th minute for their first goal.

That came when a ball from the right eluded both defenders and attackers in the penalty area, but it fell kindly to Steve Backhouse, unmarked on the edge of the area, and he fired in a ferocious shot to put Ingleton ahead.

The second goal came in the first minute of injury time, with Rovers paying the price once again of not getting the ball clear.

Dodgson's shot posed the initial problems for Rovers and though Maurice Lloyd did well to beat out that effort, the ball fell to Bibby, who made no mistake even though Lloyd did well to parry the ball onto the underside of the cross-bar, only for it to rebound into the net.

While the Barnoldswick side never allowed their effort to wane, Wildman and his defensive line were rarely in trouble, whereas there were several occasions when it was all hands to the pumps for their opposite numbers.

To their credit, Rovers prevented any further score, the closest Ingleton came to scoring being another nice run and shot from Dodgson which ended with the ball hitting the post and Rovers clearing.

Dodgson collected the Ronnie James Man of the Match award and looked like a youngster with a bright future. In a game where neither side could create much space, his close touch and confidence on the ball were impressive and as his strength and stamina develop, he should become a player to look out for in the future.

In this game he had a hand in both goals, almost scored himself and was always a threat on the ball.

His contribution, and that of 'Gimmer' Wildman from the opposite end of the age range, reflected a good all round contribution from the winners, who had the edge in all departments.

One area where both sides sored high marks was in the way the game was played. Local football is too often blighted with a cascade of 'effing and blinding' - far too much of it directed at officials who make a rod for their own backs by putting up with it - petty macho arguments between players at every penalty offence.

Mercifully, this game was free from that kind of juvenile behaviour and while it was often a shade frenetic, even a game where one side always held the whip hand was sensibly competitive and honest.