PICKERING Town boss Paul Marshall is targeting another FA Vase run after being drawn away to neighbours Bridlington in the first round proper.

Marshall guided Tadcaster Albion to the last eight of the competition in 2015 and his Pikes team caused a shock on Saturday when they won 3-1 at Northern League first division hosts Consett thanks to goals from Ryan Blott (2) and Nathan Kamara.

It was a result that Marshall reckons should provide a huge boost for the Mill Lane club’s prospects in a tournament that is normally dominated by sides from the league that Consett operate from.

“The Northern League teams are always favourites to win the Vase, because they probably shouldn’t be playing at step five,” Marshall reasoned. “They should be step four.

“But that’s what you come up against in the competition and, on Saturday, we beat one of their teams, so I’m not as worried as I used to be about meeting them.”

The tie against fellow Northern Counties East League outfit Bridlington will be played on Saturday, October 22 and Marshall is expecting a close contest.

He said: “It’s our local rivals, who have got a good team and a good manager, so I’m expecting a tough match. It will be a big occasion for both sides because a lot of the players know each other and have faced each other so many times over the years.

“In Brett Agnew, they have a striker I really like. He’s a really good player, so we’ll have to watch out for him.

“We beat them at their place last season and they beat us at ours, so it’s a flip of a coin really to decide who has the best side, but we’re the team in form and we’ve just got to keep that going until October 22. Nobody gave us a chance at Consett on Saturday, but we came away with the win and, although it’s taken us a year, I feel we are getting somewhere near where I want to be.

“The likes of Ryan Blott and Nick Thompson have given us a big lift, as has Robert Chipps, who has done very well in midfield, since we gave him the chance that he wanted from Dunnington.”

In front of a 317-strong crowd at Consett for the second qualifying round clash, Blott recovered from having a penalty saved by Chris Elliott to open the scoring just before the interval with a low shot.

Blott added a second early in the second half and, after Toby Wells saved superbly at the other end to deny Matty Slocombe, Nathan Kamara made it 3-0 on 72 minutes.

Consett’s consolation was scored six minutes later by Michael Sweet.

The victory followed a midweek 7-0 triumph at Barton Town Old Boys, which lifted Marshall’s men into eighth place, but with the ability to go top if they win all of their games in hand.

Joe Danby (2), Lewis Taylor (2), Ryan Cooper, Nathan Kamara and a James Williamson own goal completed the scoresheet at Barton.

Last night’s home meeting against Hemsworth Miners Welfare, meanwhile, was postponed due to the visitors’ FA Vase replay commitments, but the Pikes return to league action this weekend with their first Saturday fixture of the season at Mill Lane against an inconsistent Maltby Main.

On that challenge, Marshall added: “You never know what you will get with Maltby. Sometimes, you can beat them quite comfortably then, on other occasions, they can go on a good run as they did at the end of last season.

“It’s our first Saturday home game and I’m hoping a few supporters will come along. We took a really good contingent to Consett and, hopefully, the town is starting to believe in the team again, because I feel we can kick on.”

Arguably, the Pikes’ toughest NCEL test of the season will then follow next Tuesday with a trip to fourth-placed Thackley.

On their strengths, the ex-Harrogate Railway chief pointed out: “They have a big catchment area around Bradford and tend to be stronger at this stage of the season before the likes of Bradford Park Avenue and Farsley Celtic start poaching their players.”

Marshall went on to suggest he could look to loan out goalkeeper Peter Lawrie and Callum Ward this week to get them game time.

In the North Riding Cup’s first round, the Pikes have been drawn at home to Redcar Athletic, who currently sit second in the Wearside League.

That tie will be played on Tuesday, November 30, kick-off 7.45pm.