Penrith came unstuck for the first time on their travels when they were well beaten 69-14.
Their two previous away games in Regional 1 North East had resulted in wins.
They had been based, to a large extent, on their aggressive defence when they had tackled the opposition on the gain line, been in their faces throughout the game and kept their intensity up for the full 80 minutes.
Their display at Ilkley was not up to these standards.
They had stood-off the ball carriers, it had taken more than one tackler to fetch each runner down, allowing them to make ground in contact and dominate the contact area.
This had given the talented home backs some excellent ball which they had taken full advantage of running in eleven tries.
It was one of those afternoons where if it could go wrong it did but their problems were largely of their own making.
Penrith did start by dominating possession and playing in the home half but they struggled to make headway against the home defence who were very aggressive as they put in some impressive hits.
The visitors kept the ball for numerous phases but as soon as the home side got their hands on the ball, especially in the three quarters, they looked dangerous.
The match programme showed three of their backs had amassed 15 tries between them in four games and it soon became apparent why.
They were strong, hard, deceptive runners and given good possession in broken play they ran riot. They scored six tries in the first half and the first five were from their own half.
The Cumbrians could keep the ball for decent periods but as soon as the home side were in possession they looked odds on to score.
Penrith trailed 38-0 at half time and their troubles increased as both Isaac Murray and Olly Bibby had to leave the pitch with injuries that meant they would play no further part in the proceedings.
Matt Austwick had done his level best to stem the Ilkley flow but he too had to leave the pitch injured in the second half and took no further part.
Penrith did rally and looked as if they might sneak a four try bonus point when first Scott Lancaster crossed for a try following some forward pressure on the line and Harley Johnson scored a second taking advantage of a stray pass by the home backs.
Any hope of a resurgence quickly came to a halt when Jay Rossi had to leave the field with a badly torn hamstring and they were reduced to 14 men.
They did stick to their task and couldn’t be accused of not giving their all but the afternoon had gone from bad to worse and it was a relief when the final whistle went and there were no further injuries.
They have little time to lick their wounds as they now face York at home who are without a win and after two consecutive defeats for the Cumbrian side it’s looking a bit like a must win game.
