lkley Town 3 Altofts 2

Ilkley Town fought back from being a goal behind on two occasions and claimed a deserved victory over an in form Altofts side who are seeking a return to the Premier Division at the first attempt.

Goals by Andy Bloom and Phil Thommesen (2) sealed the three points with the winner arriving in the 88th minute.

Ilkley gave a home debut to Sam Dexter who had a growing influence from midfield.

The home team should have had a penalty in the opening minutes when Joe Hendrie latched on to a through ball from James Hanna and was wiped-out by the Altofts keeper as he rounded him.

To add insult to injury, the Altofts keeper then made three breathtaking save.

He reacted smartly to deflect a Dexter drive wide of the post after it was drilled through a body of players, then tipped a rising shot from Thommesen over the bar before saving with his feet from the same player.

Altofts showed menace on the break and Ben Dexter blocked a close range header after James Hirst misjudged a far-post cross, before the visitors took the lead after 25 minutes when the ball was swept past Hirst following a fine counter-attack.

Thankfully, this setback didn’t upset Ilkley’s momentum and the equaliser came five minutes later when a corner caused confusion in the Altofts penalty-area and defender Bloom whacked the ball home.

The second half mirrored the first as Ilkley pressed forwards yet Altofts always looked dangerous on the break and regained the lead when sloppy marking at a corner saw the ball bundled into the net on the hour.

A dipping volley by Sam Dexter thundered against the crossbar before Thommesen equalised after 70 minutes when he pulled away at the far-post and guided his header from Dexter’s flighted pass back across goal into the far-corner.

Ilkley still looked more likely to add to the score and the introduction of Adam Davey provided added impetus. He twisted into the penalty-area and saw a low shot saved before he pressurised a defender, regained possession and squared the ball for Thommesen to slide in and push the ball into the goal.