Issue #12 - v Ilkley Town AFC (31/01/2023)

TUESDAY 31 JANUARY 2023

NWCFL First Division North vs ILKLEY TOWN AFC

KO 8:00PM

THE STAG

FREE ISSUE #12

OFFICIAL MATCHDAY

PROGRAMME

WHAT’S INSIDE? 4 8 10 14 16 20 24 KEVIN WATKIN DAVE ROUND PARTNER FOCUS A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE EYES ON THE OPPONENT PLAYER SPONSORS SQUADS Produced and Edited by Glen Ritchie Official Club Photography by Ian Allington and Steve Miller To advertisie in this programme please email commercial@hobafc.co.uk All editorial content within this programme is the copyright of Holker Old Boys AFC and can only be used with the club’s permission. The views in this programme don’t necessarily reflect those of Holker Old Boys AFC. 8 16 3

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“TONIGHT COULD BE A SIGNIFICANT RESULT IN OUR SEASON”

THOUGHTS FROM THE DUGOUT

Good evening, and welcome to Rakesmoor Lane for tonight’s North West Counties Football League fixture against Ilkley Town AFC.

Tonight should be an excellent encounter with both teams in the early stages of a run of form, with ourselves on the back of 3 consecutive league wins and Ilkley on the back of 5 successive league wins themselves.

Both teams with very good results Saturday; they came back from 2-0 down to beat table-toppers Pilkington, but we also put together our most complete performance of the season. We got our rewards with Jase, Reidy and Joely all adding to their goal tallies, and we got the chance to utilise our squad and give 16-year-old Luke Ellis a good run out. He settled in, displayed himself well, and got a feel for the standard in the NWCFL.

As a group, we know that from early in the season and last season’s fixtures, Ilkley are a tough opponent. They like to move the ball around and get it wide. We have to manage that whilst being brave and getting on the ball and play to our strengths; move the ball quickly and with quality, as we have the players in this group to cause any team in this division problems, especially at home, so we are looking to come off at 10pm having taken 6points off Ilkley this season.

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Other results for the teams around us have gone our way in the last few weeks. We know that we have to take advantage of that with the games that are stacked up and will come every 3-4 days, which offers a challenge and provides an excellent opportunity to get some momentum. We know tonight could be a significant result in our season and our push to go one better than last season.

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KEVIN WATKIN

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“BOTH SIDES ARE IN GOOD FORM”

THOUGHTS FROM THE DUGOUT

Tonight we welcome you to Rakesmoor Lane after an excellent performance against Garstang FC, where we found the net on six occasions with some great team goals from the boys.

It was also nice to finish the game with a clean sheet and what I thought the lads fully deserved after being solid all game.

Tonight’s game against Ilkley should be very exciting for the spectators after they travel to us on the back of beating top of the league Pilkington on Saturday. Both sides are in good form going into tonight’s fixture, and we’re looking to put in the same performance we did on Saturday.

Thanks for your continued support on these cold Tuesday nights!

DAVE ROUND

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GOLD PARTNERS

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SILVER PARTNERS

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A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

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MATCH FACTS vs Competiton Venue Date Result Skelmesdale United FA Vase Rakesmoor Lane Saturday, 23rd October 2021 3-1 15

OPPONENT COLOURS Yellow & Navy NICKNAME Baht‘atters GROUND NAME MPM Stadium CAPACITY 500 RECORD ATTENDANCE 499 LEAGUE POSITION 2nd FACTSHEET 16

EYES ON

ON THE OPPONENT

THEIR HISTORY

Open-age football in Ilkley has existed since the early 20th century, with Saturday and Sunday league teams playing at West Holmes and East Holmes fields alongside the River Wharfe. The post-war forerunners of the current Ilkley Town football club were Ilkley Rangers ( c.1947 ) and Ilkley British Legion ( c. 1955 ) before the Ilkley Town club was established in the 1960s, competing in the Wharfedale League. In the late 1980s, the club struggled to survive in a town where rugby, cricket, tennis, golf and hockey possessed greater social allegiance and better facilities.

After disbanding in the early 1990s, the club was reformed in 1995 as Ilkley AFC and joined the Harrogate & District Senior League gaining promotion to the Premier League in 1997. In 2000 Ilkley AFC underwent managerial and organisational change amalgamating with the highly successful Ilkley Youth & Juniors football club.

Having barely survived in the Harrogate & District Premier League and being financially stretched, the influx of new and younger local players rejuvenated Ilkley AFC. After two seasons of consolidation, the club began its climb up the FA Non-League pyramid in 2002-03 by winning the League and Cup double in the Harrogate Senior League. In 2003 the club received FA Chartered Standard status ( combined junior and senior sections ), and in 2004-05, the two senior teams were accepted into the West Yorkshire Association Football League.

Promotion to Division One at the first attempt was followed by a change of name to Ilkley Town in 2006, reflecting the football club’s substantial impact in the town. 2007 saw the club achieve the newly instigated FA Charter Standard (Senior Club), and it continued to work closely with the club’s Junior sections.

After decades of renting local authority and school pitches, Ilkley Town Football Club was accepted into the Ben Rhydding Sports Club in 2009, giving it access to one of the best playing surfaces in West Yorkshire. Promotion to the Premier League of the West Yorkshire AFL was won in 2016.

The club’s senior section benefits from high-quality coaching and support staff ( including FA/UEFA Level 3 & 4 coaches, a specialist Goalkeeping coach and an FA Treatment of Injury specialist ), and the senior teams have been the recipients of West Yorkshire League Fair Play Awards. The club’s success led to the formation of further senior teams, with U23 and u21 teams now serving as the bridge between youth and senior football.

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MPM Stadium, Ilkley

EYES ON OPPONENT

With the move to a 4G pitch in 2017-18 and the strengthening of the link between junior and senior football, the club has gone from strength to strength, progressing to Step 6 and further raising the profile of football in the town. The club prides itself on being a club for the community with teams for boys, girls, men, women and veterans with over 650 playing members.

Our first season as a semi-professional club was in NWCFL Division 1 North in 2021/22. It was a roller coaster starting with a crowd of 499 against Bury AFC. We got off to a tricky start with five defeats but gradually found our feet. Simon Armstrong stepped aside as manager in November to replace his assistant Sam Dexter. The team picked up points steadily during the second half of the season, as did everyone else in a hugely competitive division. Another bumper crowd came from the Groundhop Weekend when we hosted Garstang. On the season’s final day, we had to beat AFC Blackpool to confirm our league status, finishing with 39 points from 36 games.

Ilkley Celebrate Manager, Sam Dexter

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v Atherton LR (2022)

ON THE OPPONENT

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v Holker Old Boys AFC (2022)

2022/23

PLAYER SPONSORS

JAMIE HODGSON JOE AMISON SAM JOEL JAY BARKER HAKAN MCCRACKEN JOE MCGLADDERY TOM DAWSON WILL MCGLADDERY ELLIOT MOORE CALLUM FAWCETT LUKE MITCHELL

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BRANDON COLLINS