ILKLEY Town returned to the top four with an impressive win against Horbury Town at Ben Rhydding on Saturday.

Town were the only game to go ahead this weekend as all other West Yorkshire League fixtures fell foul to the weather.

Credit must go to Sam Dexter and Pete Trimnell, who managed to clear the pitch of snow on Friday to ensure the game was on.

In fact it was stunning sunshine as Horbury visited on the back of a three-match unbeaten run and hoping to move closer to the top six.

It was Ilkley however,who were brighter and sharper in the opening exchanges as they looked to gain an early advantage.

Within minutes, Matt Whitehead saw his effort clear the bar as Town began to dominate.

In the 14th minute, Tom Fleming delivered a corner that Horbury failed to clear, allowing Dave Hancock to feed the ball back to Toby Harris, whose deflected shot found the net for his 31st goal of the season.

From then on, Town had the majority of possession and started to move the ball around the pitch with confidence.

Nicc Hewitt saw his effort saved and some other nice phases of play led to a couple of half chances.

Horbury tried to play the ball forward quicker in an attempt to score on the break. With the pace Horbury had, this this tactic carried a threat.

However, this meant Horbury had to withstand a certain degree of pressure through the game and in the 30th minute Town's pressure paid off.

Some nice play by Whitehead on the right hand side saw the ball find its way to the feet of Toby Harris.

Harris switched the play to Fleming, whose first touch took the ball past the full back.

Fleming then sidefooted the ball into the top corner off the crossbar to make it 2-0.

After this excellent finish, Horbury brought themselves back in the game on 40 minutes as Ilkley failed to clear and the visitors quickly played the ball to the right side and the winger whipped in a lovely cross.

Tim Edney looked to have gathered, but the ball came loose and was bundled home by the Horbury striker, making it 2-1 at half-time.

In the first ten minutes of the second half, Dave Hancock found space to advance down the left hand side, and in the 55th minute he got his rewards.

Adam Davey found him once again and Hancock drove with the ball down the left before unleashing a powerful cross that took a slight deflection, wrong-footed the keeper and beat him at the near post.

With Town now 3-1 up, they were back in control and dominated the ball, pinning Horbury back.

Harry Brown replaced Whitehead in the 65th minute he had an instant impact.

Town pressured Horbury high up the pitch with Joe Hendrie winning the ball and earning a foul on the right hand side of the penalty area.

Both Brown and Harris stood over the ball, but it was Brown who confidently struck the ball over the wall and into the top corner to make it 4-1.

In the final 25 minutes, Town had more chances to extend their lead but none were taken.

Defender Richard Bull was man of the match, as Ilkley's back four and keeper Edney were all excellent on the day.

Ilkley Town manager Simon Armstrong said: "I was really pleased with both the performance and result against a team I rate highly. It was important for us to make the most of playing today when all other teams were postponed and I'm delighted we've managed to return to the top four.

"This Saturday's fixture away at Hunslet will be a tough test. They're enjoying a fine season and a strong run of form. We're looking forward to the challenge."