YORK Acorn ARLC maintained their promotion push in National Conference League division two as winger Johnny Waldron scored four tries in an impressive 53-12 thumping of Cottingham Tigers.

Former York Wasps and Doncaster Dragons centre Gareth Lloyd, back at his amateur club, also weighed in with a hat-trick, while scrum-half Andy Gargan - who has now been called up to the BARLA Great Britain Under-21s squad - added eight goals.

The Blue and Golds thus stay third in the table, though they need their promotion rivals to drop points if they are to achieve the dream of promotion.

Yorkshire amateur flier Waldron, who is in the Yorkshire squad for the amateur county championship, took his try-tally this season to 30 as Acorn raced 27-6 ahead by half-time and continued the onslaught after the break.

Andy Hanson, playing at full-back after injury ruled out both Kev Brundrett and Danny Liddell, also scored a try and added a drop goal.

Cottingham replied with two tries for scrum-half Ray Morris, both goaled by stand-off Steve Ainley but they were comprehensively beaten.

The scoreline also helped Heworth - not in action this weekend - in their fight to avoid the re-election zone, Cottingham being below them only on points difference. Fellow strugglers Huddersfield Sharks, meanwhile, came within one point of getting out of the bottom two as they were beaten by a solitary point by runaway leaders Eastmoor Dragons, who had thrashed them 94-0 earlier in the campaign.

York Acorn 'A' team's cup semi-final in the Pennine League's Andrew Bennett Memorial Trophy away to Queensbury was postponed.

Updated: 11:05 Monday, March 07, 2005