Ilkley Draw With Driffield

Driffield 19pts v Ilkley 19pts, 31.10.26

Fourth from top plays second from bottom and you might be forgiven for thinking this would be something of a stroll in the park for Ilkley at Driffield’s pleasant Kellythorpe ground. But then came the news - no Ben Magee, the talismanic joint Captain enjoying a bit of paternity leave.

No matter, the starting 15 still looked good and for the first 40 minutes had the upper hand over their hosts . But going in at half-time leading by only 12 points to 7 never looked or felt like being enough and so it proved, as the Woldsmen rallied in the second half, scoring two tries to Ilkley’s one, with the match ending in a highly unsatisfactory 19-19 draw.

The visitors enjoyed most of the possession for a full 25 minutes before two consecutive penalties from Charles Morgan took his side to 20m out. The line won, the ball was fed out to Louis Anderson who touched down close to the posts. Converting his own try, Ilkley led 7.0.

Five minutes later, on the other side of the field, another line won from a penalty gave Morgan a chance to throw out a long pass to Kieran Wileyman, who beat the cover to score well left of the posts. Anderson’s kick sailed wide, but Ilkley were now 12-0 up and seemingly cruising.

Driffield had other ideas though and even after Henry Furbank was carded for a shoulder charge, his side fought back well and it was Ilkley’s turn to feel the heat, conceding two penalties in less than a minute. WIth referee Tom Howard playing advantage to both, a dummy by right wing Owen Scurry led to a try, ably converted by James Watts and Driffield were back in the game at 7.12.

With just two minutes remaining to the whistle, the last play of the half earned Ilkley a penalty, which unfortunately for Anderson hit the post and bounced to safety.

The second half started with a poor return of Driffield’s kick off, but Morgan got very close before his side offended at the break-down allowing the clearance. Back came the Dalesmen, but Driffield put in some fierce tackling and Ilkley simply couldn’t get through.

Then things really started to go wrong as two yellows were flashed in quick succession to Jayden Marsters and Wileyman, both for high-tackles. Driffield took immediate advantage of the disarray to score again, this time scrum-half Joe Girking. Fortunately for Ilkley, Watts missed the conversion, so the score remained tied.

Harry Smith was next to go close, then the pack, but Driffield held out, counter-attacking, which led to a third yellow for the visitors as Billy Nichol offended at a breakdown. With just the 12 men on the field, Ilkley had a fight on their hands.

In similar fashion to their hosts though, Ilkley scored next against the run of play. A Driffield move broke down, the ball went loose and Anderson was on hand to scoop it up and go in unopposed under the posts. An easy kick and Ilkley were back in the lead by 19 points to 12 with under a quarter of an hour to go.

Even being back to 13 men wasn’t enough though and just three minutes after Ilkley’s try, the Woldsmen hit back with a try from Finn Styche, converted by Watts.

Now down to the last ten minutes, the ball ping-ponged between the two attacks. Ilkley looked the more dangerous and with just three minutes to go and back to a full complement, were awarded a penalty that Morgan drilled to within 10m. However, the line was adjudged to be crooked and at the resultant scrum, Ilkley conceded again and then lost a further 10 metres for venting their frustrations.

A final penalty to Ilkley was again kicked to striking distance, but nothing came of it and Mr Howard blew for time.

This was certainly a match that could and should have been won and whilst Magee’s absence was certainly a factor, more important was the lack of discipline that allowed Driffield back in the game. Next week sees the visit of Hull, who now seem to be getting into some post-relegation form. The Dalesmen will need to sharpen up their act to get a result against the semi-professionals, but from the form shown so far at Stacks Field, a win is certainly on the cards.