Tad rout Pikes

It is a defeat that left the Pikes rooted to the foot of the Northern Premier League north/west division table without a point and a goal difference of minus nine.

Taddy were 3-0 up by the 20-minute mark, and found two more goals before half-time.

The rout could have been worse but for a penalty save from Pickering's loan keeper Harrison Foulkes.

As manager, Ingram shoulders some blame on the tactical side of proceedings - but said it shows a steep learning curve for the Pikes.

"I'm massively disappointed," he said. "It's something that can't and won't be accepted. We had harsh words at half-time and full time.

"I can't give anyone credit for that performance. It simply wasn't good enough.

"We were blown away by their pace and ruthlessness.

"It's something we've got to learn very, very quickly - when teams are on the front foot, we need to shut up shop and stay in the game.

"I've got to get things right from the sideline in selection.

"I said to the lads 'I'll take responsibility for yesterday with decisions where I played players'.

"As a collective we take responsibility and we've got to come up with solutions. We can't be saying 'I can't be playing here or he should be playing there'.

"We should be good enough to deal with the task in hand, and if they're not, they shouldn't be in the side.

"That's where it comes to me picking the right people for the job."

Three games into the season, Pickering have conceded 11 league goals. The trips to Workington and Tadcaster account for nine of those.

On Saturday, the Pikes travel to Liverpool to face Crosby-based Marine - one of seven away games they will face in their opening 10 league fixtures.

Basement side Pickering are one of just two teams yet to get off the mark, with Trafford sitting 19th courtesy of a goal difference of minus three.

"It's a tough start to the season," Ingram admitted. "It was never going to be easy, but we've got no excuses for that kind of performance.

"I get that it's early days but for me, it's not good enough.

"We had expectations. I'm not going to sit here and say we should be winning the league or pushing for the play-offs but right now, we're not where we should be."

But it is not all doom and gloom for Pickering, who are through to the FA Cup first qualifying round after a 3-1 comeback win over Bridlington Town. The Pikes will visit 1874 Northwich between September 6 and 9.

Striker Danny Earl got a hat-trick in the final 15 minutes to overturn former Pike Joe Danby's first-half opener for the Northern Counties East League premier division visitors.

And the Pikes' front line is set to be bolstered by the arrival of Flynn McNaughton from Scarborough Athletic.

Ingram said: "We created chance after chance, we went 1-0 down, we got back in the game and we could have gone into half-time 4-1 or 5-1 up.

"But I was confident that once we got the first goal we would go on to win the game."

And Ingram's confidence was rewarded by Danny Earl, who scored a hat-trick in the final 15 minutes.

"He's huge," Ingram said of Earl. "When I'm speaking to opposition managers, the first thing they say is 'You've got a real threat there'.

"With Flynn, we've got an extra dimension and I'm sure he'll get his fair share of goals.

"Ryan Blott had to be left out of the squad on Monday but with his experience and know-how, we're a threat going forward.

"But you can't win if you concede five goals in 30 minutes."