DEADLY Joe Danby’s goal-scoring efforts have been hailed by Pickering Town boss Mitch Cook.

The former Scarborough centre of excellence forward has left his mark on teams across the Northern Counties East League premier division this season – bagging 25 goals in league and cup action, with only Heanor Town’s Kieran Debrouwer scoring more in the league before the turn of the year.

Sixteen of his goals have been bagged in the first halves of games and the strikes have helped to make the Pikes the premier tier’s most prolific scorers with 88 goals in just 28 games.

With club record scorer Liam Salt having suffered a knee injury in pre-season that has kept him out of the campaign, Cook is delighted he has been able to lean on Danby to more than fill the void.

“Joe Danby was the best finisher that we ever had at the Scarborough centre of excellence,” he said. “He was always calm and composed.

“It was only a matter of time before he got an opportunity and he’s stronger now than he was a couple of years ago.

“He plays for the team as well as having his ability to score. He gets himself in positions and also creates.

“He is in the right position at the end for a lot of goals.”

Cook added: “Joe’s in good company as well. He deserves the credit but so do the rest of the team. He is scoring but Josh Greening must also have about 15 or 16 goals as well.

“They are both players that get involved in the game.”