Cup win has Kirkby ready to secure the title
KIRKBY MALZEARD chairman John Pickard has called on the team to win the league in style, after they picked up their first silverware of the season this week.
Phil Ambler's men won a thrilling Senior Cup final on Saturday, thanks to Tom Leeming's 94th minute winner.
Now they've got their eyes on the big one - the Harrogate and District League Premier Division - with three wins from the last four enough for them to clinch the title.
Chairman John Pickard said: "I'm not a betting man, but we are 95 per cent there now.
"If we can get three wins, we'll be absolutely home and dry.
"It's as simple as that."
Pickard said he was "delighted" by the side's 3-2 win over Thirsk Falcons in the cup final, singling out man-of-the-match Ashley Atkinson for special praise.
"He's just an outstanding player, I can't remember the last time he played a bad game," Pickard said.
"Ashley is a midfield dynamo, winning everything in the air and he had their star man in his pocket.
"But there was nobody who played badly."
The chairman said he had been impressed by substitute Paul Abbott, who "helped change the game massively", when he came on with 25 minutes remaining.
Abbott said he had been inspired by the birth of his third child, Lewis, two days before the game.
Pickard told the Gazette the win was "a big boost going into the last few games of the season."
"We are going to take these four league games one at a time," he said.
"The bubble is going to burst one day, but hopefully it's not going to be this season."
Kirkby travel to Bedale on Saturday (3pm) to face a side who are still in with an outside chance at the title.
"To put it mildly, this is a massive one," Pickard said.
The side then play at Pateley Bridge on Tuesday (6.30pm) - a match that could put them within touching distance of the league winners' trophy.
"If we beat Bedale and Pateley Bridge, that should make us more or less champions," Pickard said.
"We don't have to win all our games, but we want to do it in style. We want to win the next four."
Kirkby have now won 12 games on the trot and suffered their last defeat on November 14.
Next weekend, they play the Whitworth Cup semi-final against Knaresborough Town.
"We could be champions by then," said Pickard.
"That could have the effect of making us play even better - we could still be on cloud nine, possibly unbeaten.
"There's a hell of a lot of football left to play, but obviously confidence is sky-high at the moment."
Kirkby Malzeard 2nds lost 3-1 to Westbrook YMCA Reserves on Saturday, with Nicki Westbury getting their goal.
Manager Jordan Hunt said his team had played very well, but been scuppered by poor finishing.
Man-of-the-match was Marc Windle.
The 3rds suffered two defeats this week, losing 2-1 against Pannal Sports A and 6-0 to Ripon Red Arrows.
"The team battled hard against the Red Arrows, but they were well-beaten by a good team," said player-manager Brian Macnair. The man-of-the-match in that game was Peter Barrett.
THIRSK FALCONS emerged as Kirkby's main title rivals this week, recovering from their cup final defeat to beat Bedale 3-2 in the league on Tuesday night
They now leapfrog their opponents and Kirk Deighton Rangers to go second.
Falcons currently trail Kirkby by seven points, having played one game fewer.
But George Peirse's men have another shot at winning cup silverware this season on Wednesday, when they take on Cargo Fleet Social Club in the North Riding County Cup final at Stokesley.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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