Akeel Francis is Wakefield AFC's match winner while on-loan Barnsley FC youngster Max Rayner impresses

And that trend continued as Wakefield returned to the comfort of the Hunters Stadium to welcome 16th placed Ilkley Town in what was the Falcons’ penultimate league game and ran out comfortable 2-0 winners, writes Austin Ainsworth.

Wakefield’s squad was bolstered by several new arrivals, the deadline signings this time smart and necessary additions given their injury crisis, as opposed to the panicked tinkering of recent seasons.

One area Wakefield have been worst hit is central midfield, with the loss of Callum Nicell and Billy Mole coinciding with their dip in form, so manager Jason Blunt handed Max Rayner – a young prospect from Barnsley FC on work experience – a full debut from the start as the midfield anchor.

He partnered Tom Hinton in the traditional looking 4-4-2 formation seen away at Maltby in the previous week, with striker Akeel Francis playing alongside Eliel Anku for much of the game, as opposed to operating in wide and midfield positions as he has done of late.

Rayner, the only change to the side victorious at Maltby, belied his young age as he acted as the lynchpin in what was a controlled, composed and confident Wakefield performance. The home side sprayed the ball about and hunted in numbers on the rare occasions they did not have possession.

As a result, all of the chances fell their way, with Hinton testing the keeper at the near post after a good move from the left early on, while winger Basile Zottos had a similar effort from the right when Rayner played as good a first time pass one is ever likely to see to spring a counter from deep.

The home side had to wait until first half stoppage time to see their efforts rewarded, though, with the award of a penalty for a foul on the lively Ethan Kachosa, who burst into the box from the left and was fouled from behind as he was about to shoot.

Francis stepped up, as he did in the last game and confidently placed his shot low, to the goalkeeper’s left, also just as he did in the last game.

With that, Wakefield went into the break with a spring in their step, though Ilkley returned – for a brief time at least – somewhat revived and finally had a couple of weak efforts at goal.

The Falcons soon returned to dominance when top scorer Hinton almost added another goal-of-the-season contender to his highlight reel with a fierce bicycle kick from the edge of the box that went just over.

He and his impressive partner Rayner were key to Wakefield’s performance, with their influence on the game positive throughout. Rayner also almost capped a truly impressive debut with a thunderous shot from 20 yards that crashed off the underside of the bar and somehow did not bounce back into goal. It did bounce into the path of Anku, though, who then saw his header saved by the quick-reacting Ilkley goalkeeper.

The second goal did eventually come when Hinton whipped another perfect corner-kick in from the right, with Francis losing his marker with a smart run and imposing jump to power a header home for his 19th goal of the season.

Wakefield could have had more in the final 15 minutes, Francis – enjoying himself in an excellent display – almost grabbing a hat-trick when he weaved in and out to beat several players before seeing his shot well saved.

The end to the game also saw more debuts for Wakefield as Charlie Austerfield came on and Ify Ofoegbu – a blast from the past, having featured for Wakefield in their very first season as a professional club in the covid-cancelled 19-20 season – also entered the fray having recently signed for a second stint with the club.

Wakefield perhaps deserved more for their performance, but ultimately settled for “just” the two goal victory, with Ilkley actually going closest to a goal right at the end of the game when Drew Bremer – earning his 15th clean sheet of the season – pulled off a reaction save before Matthew Swift cleared the rebound off the line.

The result leaves Wakefield second in the league with just one game to play. That position – which would guarantee home ties in the semi-final, and the final should they get that far – is by no means certain. Third-placed Harrogate Railway Athletic are just two points behind while Worsbrough have two games in hand and are just four points back.

With that in mind, Wakefield’s sole focus will be to end the season positively after what appears a return to good form. That will be no easy feat given their last game sees them travel to in-form Route One Rovers on Saturday.