Pickering Town race to 4-1 win against strugglers Goole

All the goals were scored inside the opening 35 minutes as Tony Hackworth’s side produced a ruthless display in front of goal to move themselves up to 13th place.

“I think the main objective was to get the three points and that’s what we’ve done,” skipper Wayne Brooksby told the club.

“It was a bit of a sloppy start, but the lads reacted well, and we scored four really good goals.

“We were probably a bit sloppy in possession and it wasn’t our best performance, but we’ve got the job done, got the three points and we go onto the next one.”

The Pikes had given a good account of themselves as they bowed out of the League Cup on penalties at high-flying Beverley in midweek but were handed a player boost ahead of their return to league action.

Alex Zachariou, Omar Sanyang and Joe Wood all came back into the starting line-up, with Eddie Cass and Ben Silburn among those to return to the bench.

Assistant coach Joe Connor had challenged Pickering to attack the game from the outset, but it was instead Goole who broke the deadlock with just three minutes on the clock.

With goalkeeper Alfie Burnett left stranded, Shay Muirhead took advantage to guide a free header from the edge of the box into the back of the net.

The hosts though responded immediately, as from the kick-off, Harley Dawson bundled the ball home amid a goal-mouth scramble.

Ethan Kachosa saw a diving header blocked on the line, but it wasn’t long before the Pikes began to assert their dominance.

Kachosa set up Sanyang to score with a neat finish before getting in on the act himself from Zachariou’s cross as they opened up a cushion with less than 10 minutes on the clock.

After an action-packed opening, things quietened down until the 35th minute when Souleymane Coulibaly fended off three tackles before finishing into the bottom corner for Pickering’s fourth.

Skipper Wayne Brooksby believes things are starting to click at the Pikes. (Image: Ellen Thornton) Things threatened to go from bad to worse for the visitors after the break as goal-scorer Muirhead was shown a straight red card for a poor tackle, with Callum Hunt’s sinbin then leaving them temporarily down to nine men.

But the Pikes could not capitalise, the second half remaining scoreless as they saw out a deserved three points.

“I feel like we could have had more if we were a little bit better in possession,” Brooksby admitted. “We were a little bit sloppy at times.

“But our chances came, we took them and scored three goals in nine minutes. We were very clinical in both boxes I thought today.

“We seem to have a really nice balance; everyone knows their job and we seem to have a certain style of play which all of a sudden seems to have really clicked into place.

“I think we’ve got a really good squad, a really good set of lads together as well so hopefully we can push forward and look towards those play-offs if possible.

“I think we’re just getting stronger and stronger the more that we play together.

“We seem to have the same lads on the pitch which is making a massive difference and that’s showing in the results and in our performances.”

Pickering next head on the road to Huddersfield, returning to action at second-placed Golcar United on Saturday (3pm).