Castleford

CASTLEFORD........37 Ilkley.......3

Having run in over 90 points without reply in their previous league game against Thornesians, Ilkley had good reason for believing the poor form, which has dogged them for much of the season had been left behind. However they received a rude awakening in their encounter last Saturday against Castleford.

Back in September Ilkley narrowly lost to the same team, robbed of victory by an injury time try, quite against the run of play but this time they were clearly second best.

They were somewhat unfortunate in that what seemed a clear try for the visitors in the opening minutes of the match was disallowed but they can have few complaints as the strong Castleford forwards gained the upperhand.

The Ilkley pack lack real weight and they were all too frequently brushed aside by more aggresive opponents. In their infrequent attacks, poor support play and rank bad passing let them down, whilst in contrast,Castleford usually had a spare man in attack and made far fewer mistakes than their visitors.

If as expected, Ilkley play in the new North Yorkshire league next season they can expect opposition the calibre of Castleford week after week. The team has courage and spirit in abundance but to survive and indeed prosper at this level, they are in urgent need of new blood in several key positions.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.