DAN Illingworth has been named Silsden players' player of the year.

He has been a rock at the heart of the Cobbydalers' defence this season and a chipped in with some goals, notably two in the final game against Burscough to seal a victory.

His best game came away at Hallmark Security League Premier Division champions, City of Liverpool, in January where Silsden won 2-1.

Illingworth scored the Cobbydalers' opener with a powerful header. He then held the defence together with an imperious performance.

The home fans gave him a fantastic ovation at the end of the game.

He picked up his prize at Silsden's annual presentation evening.

Silsden finished ninth and over Easter they grabbed a win rivals, Barnoldswick, a compelling 2-2 draw with Northwich Vics in which Danny Forrest scored the 100,000th goal in the NWCFL since its formation in 1982.

Silsden manager Danny Forrest couldn’t attend the presentation evening, but he gave his manager's player of the year award to Craig Bentham

Forrest said: “I have chosen Craig as player of the year primarily for his performances on the pitch which have been to a high level and he's really led by example.

"He plays in numerous positions and does a job for the team no matter where he was needed. Not just that but performing so well week in, week out.

"There were around five candidates in my mind for the award, but I ended up settling on Craig due to the fact he's done so much for the club on top of just playing.

"We speak every day and all the major decisions that need to be made are very much a joint decision between us.

"He's literally been my right arm and he deserves so much credit for what he's done this year.

"He has the respect of the group, and to do that sometimes can be difficult, being assistant manager means he has to keep his distance in certain situations.

"All in all we had some strong candidates but I'm sure everyone will agree Craig is a worthy winner."

Vice-chairman John Lohan presented the other trophies. The committee’s player of the year was Matty Moses. The full-back has had an outstanding season and has now clocked up 188 games for the Cobbydalers, scoring one goal.