PICKERING Town’s winless start to the season continued on Friday evening against Campion, who had Marcus Day to thank as they eased to a 5-1 triumph in Bradford.

The Pikes did, however, manage to score their first goal in all competitions this season courtesy of the boot of striker Keelan Grist, but that proved to be a mere consolation as their hosts moved to the summit of the NCEL premier division on goal difference.

Interim manager Tony Hackworth made three changes from Pickering’s 2-0 defeat to Frickley Athletic in midweek, reinstating Brad Ward, Cole Roberts and Paul Young into the starting line-up in place of Wayne Kitula, Matthew Garbutt and Grist, who all dropped to the bench.

Campion, seeking their fourth win from as many games, came out of the blocks firing, both Day and Paddy Sykes shooting high and wide inside 10 minutes.

Harrison McGuire was then on hand to deny Day the opening goal with a fingertip save but could do nothing to prevent the forward from firing his side in front in the 16th minute after a fine team move involving Junayd Cassius-Gill and Sykes.

Grist was introduced into the action on the half-hour mark in place of Jamie Thornton, with Pickering then falling further behind after a comical own goal that saw defender Jamie Poole send a looping header into the back of his own net.Having gone into half-time with a two-goal deficit, Pickering started brightly after the break, and were perhaps unlucky not to have been awarded a penalty for handball two minutes after the restart.

Hackworth was yellow carded from the sidelines before his side fell even further behind just shy of the hour mark.

Kieran Studdards was given the freedom of the pitch to venture forwards, with Day first to smash the rebound past McGuire after he had parried a dangerous Stevie Crawford effort into his path.

A series of substitutions saw both sides introduce fresh legs for the remaining 15 minutes, with Marcus Harper coming close to making an immediate impact after squaring the ball to Day, but McGuire was equal to his effort with a comfortable save.

It was, in fact, the Pikes who would score next, Grist scrambling his side’s first goal of the season into the back of the net after the hosts had fallen asleep from a corner.

But Campion stretched their lead with two goals inside the final five minutes to cap a five-star performance.

Day completed his third consecutive hat-trick after finishing past McGuire before controversy struck in injury time, the hosts completing the rout after Joe Colley wrong-footed his marker, despite Pikes captain Wayne Brooksby being unable to come back onto the field after he was the victim of a stamp.

A fifth consecutive defeat for the Pikes as their dreadful start continues, something they’ll be looking to put right against Tadcaster Albion at Mill Lane this evening (7:45pm).

PICKERING TOWN: McGuire, Dyer, Ward (Alngohuro 60), Drury, Roddam, Poole, Thornton (Grist 30), Mills (Garbutt 57), Roberts (Kitula 75), Brooksby, Young (Giliga 86).