It would be nice to say Pickering Town's 1-0 NCEL premier division defeat of winless Borrowash Victoria was never in doubt.

But despite an amazing 20-odd chances on goal, it was.

There were even hushed murmurs of 'I can see us losing this 1-0' at half time.

So when substitute Seb Towse drilled in a low shot through a packed penalty area on 69 minutes, a collective sigh of relief was raised by the home fans.

Borrowash must have thought they had missed Pickering altogether and gone to Scarborough due to the amount of sand on the pitch. Anyone doubting the need to sponsor a ton of sand at £20 a go will have been instantly convinced as it soaked up what had been a mud bath 24 hours previously.

But there must have been times during the match in which the ground staff, who had toiled so hard to get the pitch fit, wondered if their efforts had been worth it.

The referee's refusal to award a 12th-minute penalty after Matthew Morton was tripped in the box already seemed to be an injustice.

But the chances kept coming. And the Pikes kept messing them up.

A well-crafted move down the left featuring player-manager Alex Mathie, Brian Dutton and Mark Swales came undone with an offside flag, while a great flick by Rob Eeles from a corner was sent miles over on 15 minutes.

Swales forced keeper Steve Smith into a great one-on-one save on 20 minutes and learnt from the mistake to lift the ball over the advancing goalie ten minutes later, only to watch it clear the bar as well.

Dutton, released by a perfect through ball on the stroke of half-time, side-footed the ball past the keeper ...and onto the post.

Pickering's new goalkeeper Carl Silburn had little to do but a handful of heart-stopping moments at the end of each half were comfortably dealt with.

Mathie said: "I think the result doesn't do it justice. But I don't mind if we win 1-0 or 10-0 as long as we get the three points.

"We've had three draws lately which we could have won so I'm delighted with the result."

Brothers Joe and Pat Gaughan were on the scoresheet in Goole's 2-1 defeat of Liversedge - but it was only Joe who was celebrating as his side took the spoils.

Pat had sent Liversedge into a 25th-minute lead but Goole hit back in the second half through Danny Ames before Joe netted the winner with six minutes to go.

Selby Town are still top after beating Hallam 2-1 away.

Tom Franklin put the hosts ahead ten minutes into the second half but Cameron Stuart equalised for the Robins with a turn and shot on the edge of the area.

Adam Wash turned in the winner three minutes later from a Tom Matthews cross as Selby held out for the win despite losing Stuart to a late red card along with Hallam defender Craig Pinder.

Harrogate Railway's promotion push was stalled by a postponement at Eccleshill.

Tadcaster Albion had to settled for a 2-2 draw after a late defensive slip cost them a win against Rossington Main.

Two goals in a minute from an Alan Jackson penalty and Matty Howgate had put them 2-1 ahead until the late error.

Former York City defender Leigh Wood got his first goal for Harrogate Town in their first-ever defeat of Droylsden.

Non-League legend Jody Banim put the Bloods in front but Neil Aspin's side came back through Wood and a Danny Holland header to claim a vital win that keeps them within three points of the Nationwide North top spot.

Updated: 11:16 Monday, January 31, 2005