ANDREW Gale is targeting a Roses victory at Headingley in 12 days’ time as Yorkshire look to ignite their Specsavers County Championship title bid.

Coach Gale was content with his side’s performance in their draw with Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford, which finished today.

He bemoaned the fact 45 overs were lost on Saturday’s second day as well as the placid nature of the pitch.

But he has also called for more from his side in the coming weeks as they bid to add to last month’s solitary win against Warwickshire at Edgbaston from their first four matches.

After all, even though the Division One table is tightly packed, with only 14 fixtures this year, the White Rose can’t afford to wait too long before making their move.

They are currently fourth and 12 points behind leaders Essex having taken nine from this match.

“Particularly with it being a home game (we could do with winning),” said Gale after seeing Peter Handscomb post his first Championship century for the county late on day four.

“It seems to be when we go away this year, last year as well, that the pitches are quite flat.

“People are frightened of producing seaming wickets against us.

“We’ve got to find a way of bowling sides out on flat pitches. But we’ve got to win our home games. That’s going to be key.”

Lancashire started the day on 254-6 in their first-innings reply to Yorkshire’s 448-8 declared.

They needed to reach 299 to avoid having to follow-on and did so in the ninth over of the day.

Ryan McLaren and Simon Kerrigan hit 84 and 59, while Tom Bailey and Stephen Parry also hit 40 and 39 respectively as the home tail wagged either side of lunch.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul had top-scored with 106 in their total of 432 all out. Azeem Rafiq and Tim Bresnan equally shared the four Lancashire wickets to fall yesterday.

Gale said: “I'm disappointed we lost the time through rain because it could have been a good game.

“I thought we played some good cricket, but we spoke about taking our half chances. It's something we haven't always done this year.

“When you look back at the games we've played. Hampshire at home, the first morning of the fourth day, we dropped a couple of half chances.

“We dropped Shiv in this game when he was on 40-odd. Players like that on pitches like that make you pay. You just have to be a little bit more ruthless and concentrate harder.”

Adam Lyth fell for nine early in Yorkshire’s second innings, bowled by Kerrigan, and he now has only 90 runs in seven Championship innings this season.

But Handscomb hit a superb unbeaten 101 off 77 balls with 12 fours and a six as he shared an unbroken 153 inside 28 overs for the second wicket with Alex Lees, who hit a pleasing 62 not out.

It was Yorkshire’s third century of the match, including Jack Brooks hitting 109 in the first innings.

Gale added: “If you’d have said to me that Jack would finish his career with a first-class fifty I might have laughed, never mind a hundred.

“I threw at him the day before the game and felt like nicking him off every ball. It was an unbelievable knock and is one of those reasons why we turn up every day to watch cricket.”