Report by North Derbyshire Radio’s Senior Football Correspondent David Bell
Dronfield Town dominated their latest NCEL Division One fixture against Ilkley Town but the outcome was sadly another loss. Harry Brown’s 14th minute header gave the visitors the lead in a close first 45 minutes and despite Dronfield laying siege to the Ilkley goal, the West Yorkshire side got a second through Toby Marriott on 79 minutes. Dronfield skipper Lewis Naylor, usually the club’s goalkeeper but pressed into centre forward duties for the afternoon, set up an intriguing finish to the game with a header on 86 minutes but it was the ‘Bahtatters’ who held out to claim the three points. With all the sides around them losing, there is little current change to the table but Dronfield now only have five games to secure their step six survival. The first of those games sees the Derbyshire team make the long journey to Louth Town next Saturday.
Dronfield sprung a surprise by naming regular goalkeeper Lewis Naylor in a starting berth at centre forward; a position he has played several years ago. It paid almost immediate dividends when his back header forced Ilkley stopper Matthew Keen into a save before the referee blew for an infringement.
It was the visitors who took the lead on 14 minutes however. The pacy Kevin Gonzalez was allowed freedom down the left flank to deliver a pinpoint cross that Harry Brown headed home with aplomb to make it 1-0.
Gonzalez caused trouble again six minutes later when in a similar position, he delivered for Eliel Maville-Anku but his finish wasn’t quite as sharp as that of his strike partner.
Naylor was influential throughout the game and a teasing cross from Max Rhodes on the left just evaded his outstretched boot on 24 minutes.
Dronfield suffered a blow on 33 minutes when stalwart Sam Bebbington was forced to leave the field through injury to be replaced by Tom Gladwin and as they tried to reorganise, another testing run by Gonzalez ended with Brown unable to convert his header on this occasion.
Frustrations boiled over at the start of the second half with Dronfield manager Chris Millington receiving a yellow card in light of some mystifying decisions from the officials.
Dronfield decidedly went on the front foot and a pair of Charlie Stewart opportunities saw them go close. On 54 minutes, Owen Lester did extremely well to hook back a cross from the right that resulted in Stewart’s overhead kick clearing the crossbar.
On 58 minutes, Naylor’s header dropped nicely to Stewart but a volley with his unfamiliar right boot also went just over.
Dronfield spent significant amounts of time in the Ilkley area and on 71 minutes, Stewart’s fierce free kick from 25 yards out forced a good low stop from Keen in the Ilkley net.
Dronfield thought they had levelled the encounter on 74 minutes. Keen appeared to misjudge Connor Chapell’s inswinging corner, palming the ball into the back of the goal. Celebrations became muted as the referee blew for an unspecified foul.
Despite the host’s dominance in the half, it was Ilkley who got a second on 79 minutes. An unfortunate series of events saw Ilkley substitute Toby Marriott hit the post when he ought to have done better. However, the ball rebounded from the upright hitting Dronfield keeper Jake Balme on the back and ending up in the net with the score at 2-0.
With a significant amount of stoppages pending, Dronfield gave themselves a chance with four minutes left of regulation time. An inswinging corner saw Lewis Naylor connect with his head in amongst the melee for a deserved goal and to set up an intriguing finale.
To their credit, Ilkley negotiated the added time to claim three points that pushes them to within one place of the playoffs. With all the sides around them losing, Dronfield currently remain third bottom of the table but with only five games remaining to play.
Dronfield make the long journey to sixteenth placed Louth Town next Saturday with the Lincolnshire side having made some key recent recruits that have elevated them out of their own spell of trouble at the foot of the table.
Dronfield Town: Balme, Thorpe J, Bebbington, Stewart, Riley, Lester, Chapell, Lindores, Rhodes, Naylor, Ord. Subs: Thorpe M, Siddons, Bovill, Gladwin, Fereday.
Ilkley Town: Keen, Brayshaw, Parker, Nightingale, Swift, Storton, Knox, Lane, Maville-Anku, Brown, Gonzalez. Subs: Hague, Pearson, Snowden, Mehmeti, Marriott.
Attendance: 126
