After a confidence-boosting 4–1 win over York, there was cautious optimism heading into today’s match, despite visitors Ilkley arriving in excellent form. Sheffield Wednesday mounted a spirited second-half fightback, but it ultimately wasn’t enough, as Ilkley held on to secure all three points.

Ilkley immediately took the game by storm, converting their first real half-chance in the 4th minute, after a fortuitous half volley looped over Holly Coughlan in goal. Their fortune continued and they doubled their lead just minutes later, after Coughlan’s clearance rebounded off of the striker and trickled into the empty net.

The away side continued to dominate, forcing some fine saves from Coughlan at close range and applying pressure, not allowing Wednesday to kick into gear. Things went from bad to worse as their relentless intensity paid off, with a through ball setting the striker on goal for a hat-trick after just 24 minutes. Wednesday grew into the game ever so slightly, with first-half substitutes Nicole Shaw and Rachel Norsworthy helping to slow the tempo of the game down, and keep the score-line at 3-0 going into the break.

The start of the second half was a scrappy affair, with play largely confined to midfield and few clear-cut chances for either side. In the 58th minute, Norsworthy was fouled on the right, and centre-back Imogen Yeardley stepped up to take the resulting free kick from around 25 yards. With Wednesday’s first shot on target, she caught the keeper off guard, curling the ball in at the near post to reduce the deficit.

However, Ilkley restored their three goal advantage in the 73rd minute, after a through ball played their midfielder through on goal, before she rounded Coughlan and tapped it in at close range. They almost got another just two minutes after, hitting the woodwork after an effort from outside of the box.

Despite a strong spell, some good pressing from Norsworthy paid off, as she won the ball from the centre-back and scored from a tight angle, taking advantage of the goalkeeper’s poor positioning to make it 4-2 with ten minutes to go. In the 83rd minute, Wednesday were gifted another goal from a poor goal kick, allowing the ever-reliable Shaw to slam the ball into the roof of the net and reduce the deficit to just one.

Wednesday pushed for an equaliser for the remainder of the game, but it was Ilkley who came closest, hitting the post in the 88th minute with a speculative effort, though it stayed out.

The game finished 4–3 to Ilkley, despite a spirited second-half fightback from Wednesday. After a disastrous first half, in which they fell 3-0 behind, the Owlesses showed real character to claw back three goals and make the contest nervy for the visitors. With this result, Wednesday drop to 5th in the NERWFL and will return in two weeks to face Farsley at home. MOTM was awarded to Imogen Yeardley.

XI: Coughlan, Gilligan, Yeardley, Lee, Vessey; Crossland, Stancill, Russell, Barrett, Clayton, Rose. Subs: Shaw, Norsworthy, Birtles.