SILSDEN have soared to the summit of the Northern Counties East League Premier Division, with an early-season reset paying off in spectacular fashion.
Having lost their first three competitive games, they have roared back by winning eight of their next nine, producing some scintillating attacking play in the process.
The Cobbydalers dominated Bottesford Town last time out, finally breaking their opponents down late on to beat them 2-1, while they had won their previous two games 9-1 and 5-0 against Pickering Town and Barton Town respectively.
Joint-boss Matt Cavanagh told the Keighley News: “I thought we had a good pre-season, but maybe something didn’t click at the start, as we weren’t good enough in those first three games.
“We kind of scrapped what we’d been doing and started again, had a good, hard-fought win at Rossington Main, and gone from there.
“The staff and players are delighted and the signs are promising.
“But there’s a long journey ahead yet this season and we have to keep working hard.”
On his side’s win at the weekend, Cavanagh said: “We looked a bit tired at Bottesford, but after putting so much into beating Campion, Hallam, Pickering and Barton, that took its toll a bit.
“We were decent, and it’s good to see that if it’s needed, we can grind out a win.
“We had lots of possession and chances, but weren’t clinical, yet we showed great character to end up with an important three points.
“In those early games we were losing, we were still creating chances, but not scoring.
“Against Pickering and Barton, we were putting them away from fun.”
That is hardly surprising when you consider the array of attacking talent within Silsden’s ranks, including star summer signings Kayle Price and Casey Stewart.
Cavanagh said: “We’ve got a really exciting attacking line up in Kayle, Casey, Ellis (Hudson), Jake (Maltby), Isaac (Baldwin) and Brooky (Luke Brooksbank).
“They’re all chipping in, growing in confidence, and they know how to score goals.”
This is a rare midweek off for Silsden, and they have a break from the league this Saturday when they host Billingham Synthonia in the FA Vase second qualifying round.
Cavanagh said: “We’re on a roll in the league, so I wouldn’t have minded a midweek game, as you don’t want that break when it’s going well.
“I want to win all games, regardless of them being in the league or cup.
“Every game is a different challenge and that will be the case on Saturday.
“We’ll be giving it our best effort, with full commitment and determination, because if our standards slip, we’ll probably go out.”
One slight dampener for Silsden is that talented coach Connor Ashworth is stepping aside from their West Yorkshire League side’s management team due to work commitments.
Cavanagh and fellow joint first-team boss Luke Lavery were in that role previously, and the former said: “Connor represents the talent of coach Luke and I wanted after leaving the West Yorkshire League side, as we wanted similar people to come in.
“We had high expectations, of coaches that could put on good sessions and were willing to buy into those good young lads and develop them, as well as listen to the older lads in the side.
“Jacob (Mistry) and Connor have done all of that and I’m sad about Connor leaving, but I wish him all the best."
Cavanagh added: "We’ve already got a replacement lined up for Connor, but it’s not hard to get people on board.
“People want to buy into us because they see what we’re doing as a whole club, from the juniors to the first team.
“There’s a unity and shared purpose and everything feels cohesive across the club.”
Someone who played an important part in that was club stalwart Eddie Sessford, who has just passed away.
Paying his own tribute, Cavanagh said: “Eddie was a dedicated volunteer who gave years of service to the club and I know lots of members of the committee who were close to him.
“I’m fairly new to the club, but you can see the impact Eddie had on the football and facilities here.
“All the social media posts paying tribute to him showed how highly he was regarded by the club and people in the Silsden community.
“He’s going to be a big miss and I wish his family and friends condolences.”
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