Free-scoring Pickering Town finishing Northern Counties campaign with a flourish (From York Press)

Free-scoring Pickering Town finishing Northern Counties campaign with a flourish

11:05am Friday 19th March 2010 in

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ELEVEN games unbeaten, Pickering Town are sharpening their predatory powers for a pulsating finale to the Northern Counties East League premier division campaign.

Manager Mark Wood’s plea for his men to be more ruthless in front of goal could not have been better answered by the free-scoring Pikes.

Their 5-0 smiting of NCEL derby rivals Selby Town at the Robins’ Flaxley Road base took their tally to 14 goals in the last three league outings. Other than a penalty shoot-out loss to Middlesbrough in the North Riding Senior Cup semi-final, Pickering have lost just once since mid-January.

Spearheading the Pikes’ renaissance has been burly striker Liam Salt. His strike against Selby was his sixth in his last four outings, though it was again noteworthy that Pickering had four separate marksmen against their rivals, who began the high-five defeat with an own goal.

Among the scorers was Danny Gray, who has joined the Recreation Ground club from Scarborough Athletic.

The win enabled the visitors to leapfrog the Robins into fifth and the Pikes will be hungry for yet more premier division plunder when they host 15th-placed Hallam tomorrow.

It’s home duty too for Selby, who have been hit by the loss of another brace of players ahead of tomorrow’s visit of Long Eaton.

Midfielder Scott Pickles has signed for Armthorpe Welfare, while Jamie Hawksworth has moved to Scarborough Athletic.

Their midweek loss to Pickering was typified by a bundle of spurned chances. As it is, Selby are having to blood new players at a crucial time of the campaign.

Scarborough Athletic, who are now in the sights of Pickering, just one place below, travel to Thackley.

In the first division, in-form Tadcaster Albion head to AFC Emley on the back of a 5-0 battering of Appleby Frodingham in midweek to consolidate third spot for Paul Marshall’s men.

Albion are five points adrift of second-placed Leeds Carnegie over whom they have a game in hand, and while they trail leaders Brighouse by seven points Tadcaster have played no fewer than four games less.

Three successive defeats have nipped the Harrogate Town revival in the bud and it will be presented with the sternest challenge tomorrow when Blue Square North leaders Fleetwood arrive at Wetherby Road.

However, the resurgence currently enjoyed by Harrogate Railway could be expanded to five games if they prise a positive result from hosts Mossley in UniBond League division one north.

Railway’s midweek single-goal win at Ossett Albion, courtesy of a fourth-minute strike from Mark Ryan, was their third win in four undefeated games as they bid to escape the drop zone.