MITCH COOK hopes Pickering Town have reached a "turning point" after a 5-4 victory at Armthorpe Welfare.

While disappointed the Recreation Ground side were once again lax at the back - the quartet conceded taking their goals against column to 18 in just six matches - Cook took the positives out of a three-point haul as his misfiring forward line suddenly burst into life.

Hoping to welcome back key players Joe Danby, Ged Dalton and Tony Hackworth into the starting 11 in the Pikes' Northern Counties East League premier division clash at Thackley this weekend, Cook can now see the light at the end of the tunnel.

"The most important thing was winning," he said of the Armthorpe game. "It is disappointing as we were 4-0 up and you are thinking that we should win comfortably. We did what we have done when we haven't been getting results. We conceded a goal and had a little collapse again.

"We lack a bit of confidence. We have been on the end of a couple of hammerings. They think 'here we go again'. We got out of it with a win and it might be a blessing in disguise. I hope it will be the turning point. We were the leading goalscorers in the league last year. At this moment in time we have only scored eight all season.

"That isn't us. We have been conceding the goals and it has got to stop."

Armthorpe haven't recorded a single point after four league games and it looked like they were going to be crushed when Pickering cruised into a three-goal lead.

Joel Ramm gave the Pikes the perfect start after five minutes and Frank Belt and Billy Logan also netted to give Cook's men a commanding lead.

Debutant Ryan Cooper, the former Kirkbymoorside player signed from Barton Town Old Boys in midweek, added a fourth goal four minutes after the break.

Then, though, it started to get nervy for the Pikes.

Joe Lumsden hit a hat-trick in 10 minutes - 52, 56 and 62 - with his third goal coming from the penalty spot and, although Cooper scored a second with 18 minutes remaining to restore a two-goal cushion for the Pikes, Lumsden got a fourth in the last minute as Armthorpe tried to rally late on.

The Pikes now go to Thackley on Saturday to meet a side 16th in the table. They will then return to home comforts next Tuesday when fourth-placed Worksop Town - who hammered Cook's men 5-0 on their patch at the end of last month - make a quick return trip in the league.

Cook said: "Thackley is a winnable game and they will be thinking the same. I hope we will score this weekend and shore the other end up.

"The injury situation is a little bit better. Danby, Hackworth and Dalton were all on the bench last week and they have had another week's rest so there is reason for optimism."

On the visit of Worksop, the Mill Lane manager added: "I have been in this league for four or five years and their performance against us was one of the best I have seen. They were magnificent - in the type of football they played and the way they went about things.

"They played some really eye-catching football and if I hadn't been on the receiving end it would have been really good to watch. We will be playing a decent side but we will have something to prove."