Rob Youhill hoping Harrogate Railway can 'fly into' NCEL Division play-offs after Goole AFC success

Rob Youhill wants his Harrogate Railway players to maintain the level of performance they produced against Goole in order that they “fly into” the NCEL Division One play-offs.

The Starbeck outfit ran out comprehensive 3-0 winners at Station View on Saturday afternoon thanks to Alex Ingham’s brace and a first-minute goal from fellow forward Alex Burton.

Alex Burton set the tone for Harrogate Railway with a goal in the first minute of Saturday's 3-0 home triumph over Goole AFC. Pictures: Gerard Binks

placeholder image — Alex Burton set the tone for Harrogate Railway with a goal in the first minute of Saturday's 3-0 home triumph over Goole AFC. Pictures: Gerard Binks

That success saw the Rail consolidate fourth spot and trim the gap to third-placed Worsbrough Bridge Athletic to just a single point.

But, it was only their second in six matches following an inconsistent run of form that has seen them lose plenty of ground at the top of the table.

Joe Navier on the attack during Saturday's NCEL Division One clash at Station View.

And Youhill is hopeful that such a commanding display proves the catalyst for a sequence of improved results at the business end of the season.

"We just need to set good standards and get good momentum, so that when we go into those play-off games, whether we are home or away, we play the right way.

"We have slipped up and we probably haven’t earned enough points to get home advantage in a play-off tie, which is frustrating. But, we won’t dwell on that too much, we just want to get into good habits.

"We don’t want to limp into the play-offs, we want to fly into them, like any team would want to do.

Rail forward Alex Ingham celebrates scoring his side's second goal of the afternoon.

"And, we have got a few more games left to be able get that momentum up so that we are able to fly into them.”

With Railway currently eight points clear of sixth-placed Leeds UFCA, winning just one of their remaining four fixtures would be sufficient to guarantee them a play-off berth at the end of the regular season.

However, with only second or third spot enough to guarantee a home tie in the play-offs, Youhill and his men still have plenty of work to do.

But, their position is at least looking rather healthier following their fine showing against Goole.

"It was a dominant performance,” Youhill added. “There were a few stand-out performances, but collectively, I thought that we were fantastic.

"We started well and grew into the game. Because we were growing into the game, we were just nullifying anything that Goole were trying to do.

"At times, we looked like we had two more players on the pitch than they did. We won second balls really well and just did the basics really well.

"It was nothing crazy that we did, it was just doing the basics well, and that meant that we were better all over the pitch.”

Railway broke the deadlock at Station View with less than 60 seconds on the clock when Burton beat Goole goalkeeper Jordan Douglas from a tight angle.

Five minutes before half-time, Burton turned provider for strike partner Ingham, who ran onto a well-timed past and slotted past the onrushing Vikings stopper.

Ingham then wrapped things up shortly after the interval. Having got on the end of Nathan Heaton’s through-pass, he flicked the ball up, span away from two defenders and finished confidently.

Next up for Railway is a trip to Club Thorne Colliery on Tuesday evening (7.45pm), followed by this Saturday’s fixture on the road at Crowle Colts (3pm).