SCARBOROUGH scored two goals of the highest quality to beat a shell-shocked Accrington Stanley 2-1 at the McCain Stadium yesterday.

However, the visitors must be wondering just why the game wasn't beyond the hosts after an hour.

Accrington's Andy Gouck was left ummarked to head home in the first half and Leigh Walker in the home goal produced two brilliant saves to deny Ged Brennan. With Paul Mullin missing a sitter from only a couple of yards out, the game should have been over.

However, Tony Hackworth turned to shoot in one movement to produce a daisy cutter into the bottom corner to equalise after an hour and then Boro took control.

The winner was scored by Keith Gilroy, limited to a handful of substitute appearances since breaking a bone in his foot in August.

As stoppage time loomed, the Irish winger cut in, played a delightful ball into the feet of Clint Marcelle and rifled the return pass into the roof of the net.

It was a goal of sheer brilliance and showed just how much Gilroy, who had a brief spell on loan at York City last season from Sunderland, has been missed.

It was Scarborough's last Nationwide Conference home game of the season and Gilroy had scored the first goal of the campaign against Farnborough in August.

"It was great to be back on the pitch again and nice to score - although it was the first shot in open play I have had this season," said Gilroy.

Scarborough: Walker, Capper, Hotte, Downey, Nicholson, Gill (Gilroy 76), Rose, Kerr, Marcelle, Quayle (Senior 72), Hackworth.

Accrington Stanley: Speare, Howarth (Cavanagh 65), Halford, Smith (Calcutt 71), Fitzgerald, Proctor, Brennan, Gouck (Kempson 65), Prendergast, Mullin, James.

Referee: M Tilling (Guisborough).

Attendance: 1,523.

Harrogate Town remained fifth in the UniBond League premier division after a lacklustre performance brought them a 1-0 home defeat to lowly Yorkshire rivals Bradford Park Avenue.

No fewer than 17 goals had been netted in Town's previous three games, with John Reed's men scoring 11 of them, but the nearest they came yesterday was when James Turley's 25th-minute long-range effort hit the crossbar and the game was decided by a single counter, from Steve Oleksewycz's deflected shot shortly after half-time.

Reed will be hoping injuries to Michael Ord and Neil Aspin, which forced both to come off, are not serious.

Pickering Town's bid to steal the Northern Counties East League crown was boosted by an excellent 2-0 premier division triumph at third-placed Sheffield.

Mark Wood opened the scoring on the quarter-hour and Mark Swales completed the victory just after the hour mark as the Pikes bounced back superbly from Saturday's disappointing home defeat to title rivals Eastwood Town.

Pickering jumped to fifth in the table with games in hand on the leaders.

Former Pikes player Adam Wash was on target for Goole in their derby day premier division draw at Selby Town.

Joe Gaughan got Selby's goal in the 1-1 stalemate, which kept the Robins in seventh place and Goole in eighth, both sides still level on points.

Updated: 10:18 Tuesday, April 13, 2004