THACKLEY missed the chance to move up to second in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division on Tuesday night after slipping to a grim 3-0 defeat at Frickley Athletic.

After an hour, the scores were still level, but the Dennyboys collapsed late on against their mid-table hosts, who were playing their first game under new boss Tom Claisse.

Thackley still have a four-point buffer inside the play-offs however and will hope to write off this midweek misery as a blip.

Visiting keeper Michael Roxburgh was forced into action early on to keep out a long-range effort, while at the other end, Ben Grech-Brooksbank came close after latching on to Finn Donovan’s flick on, only to be kept out by onrushing Frickley stopper Harrison Davison-Hale.

Tawheed Ahmed then had a shot deflected narrowly wide for Thackley, as a quiet first half ended goalless.

Grech-Brooksbank fired wide and team-mate Luke Rhodes put a good chance over early in the second half and Thackley were made to pay for those misses.

An unfortunate slip at the back on the hour mark gifted former Bradford (Park Avenue) striker Rob Guilfoyle a gilt-edged chance, which he took to put Frickley 1-0 up.

The hosts seemed buoyed by going in front and they quickly added a second goal, Joel Spence heading home Charlie Clegg’s pinpoint cross.

Rampant Frickley then hit the bar through Spence, before Clegg was brought down in the box with eight minutes to go.

Jack Varley stepped up and converted the penalty to seal victory, with Thackley’s miserable night complete when they had a late goal ruled out for offside.

Campion had a much better Tuesday night, moving up to ninth in the NCEL Premier Division table with a 1-0 home win over bottom side Goole AFC.

The winner came on 70 minutes courtesy of teenage Bradford (Park Avenue) striker Harry Varley, who is at the Red and Blacks on a dual-registration deal.

Joint-bosses James Bicknell and Lee Ashforth will be glad to have Varley on their side now, with the youngster scoring a hat-trick against them in pre-season for Avenue.

James Bicknell and Lee Ashforth continue to lead Campion up the table after a slow start to the campaign.James Bicknell and Lee Ashforth continue to lead Campion up the table after a slow start to the campaign. (Image: Martin Taylor.)

Tension between the chairman and fans, with no sign of The Citadel being ready to host them any time soon, has ensured a tumultuous season off the field for Farsley Celtic.

But to the first-team’s credit, they are still producing some good results in National League North.

One of those came on Tuesday night, as they earned a magnificent 2-0 win at King’s Lynn Town.

The hosts would have gone top of the table with a victory, but they ended up being stunned by Pav Singh’s side.

Darren Stephenson put them in front 10 minutes before the break when he latched on to a loose ball, left his defender for dead, then fired home.

And Manny Mampala turned home the rebound in first-half stoppage time after Robbie Fox’s shot was saved to double Farsley’s advantage.

The Celts then did brilliantly to survive a late onslaught from King’s Lynn, with the result moving them up to 15th in the table, six points clear of the relegation zone.