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Ilkley Town v Rawdon Old Boys

7.30pm  28 August 2018

West Yorkshire League, Premier Division
Ilkley Town 3 Rawdon Old Boys 1 (att 65)

Ilkley Town's new ground has gone largely under the radar, but that's not too surprising as they've moved just a few yards to a new pitch and are still based at the Ben Rhydding Sports Club on the edge of the town.

Their former pitch, which I visited in 2013, is still in place and might still be used from time to time, but this season Ilkley are playing on a new enclosed and floodlit 4G pitch. For spectators it's better than many venues of this type, with access around most of the perimeter.

It was nice to have a floodlit new ground to visit relatively close to home, sparing me the usual stressful effort to battle rush hour traffic for a more distant venue or a much earlier kick off time.

The top division of the West Yorkshire League can usually be relied upon to produce a decent standard of football, and this game fitted the bill. Two good sides played a competitive and enjoyable game, aided by the smooth artificial surface.

Ilkley opened the scoring after 20 minutes, but a penalty for Rawdon levelled the score before half time. The home side got on top as the second half progressed, and two goals in the final 20 minutes gave them a deserved win.







Ilkley Town's new pitch isn't on Google Maps yet but here's a map of its location

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