Pickering 0

Thackley 3

Thackley claimed their first victory of the season in the Northern Counties East Premier Division with a comfortable win over mid-table Pickering Town at the North Yorkshire club's Recreation Ground.

It was the Bradford side's seventh attempt to register a win, though they have lost just two games. They looked far from the division's draw specialists as they won both halves. After weathering a tricky opening 15 minutes they started to settle. A good move saw Dave Nelson with a scoring opportunity but Pickering's keeper made a good save to deny him.

The wide man did play a part in the build-up when the deadlock was broken in the 33rd minute. Crisp passing led to Nelson being in position to deliver the final ball and Joel Etienne drilled his shot into the bottom corner.

After turning round a goal to the good, Nelson's industry then brought about the second for Thackley. He hit a low, hard drive into the danger area and Adam Johnson pounced on the rebound.

The win was sealed 14 minutes from time when Etienne chased what looked like a lost cause. He managed to win the ball, play it back to Johnson and his cross was converted by Dean Walters with a superb diving header.

"That was a quality finish at any level and gave them little time to mount a comeback," said Thackley manager John Boyle. "We played well on a nice surface and both teams wanted to get the ball down to play football."