IN-form striker Damien Hindle netted his eighth goal in the last six games as Burnley forced a 1-1 draw at Stockport County on Saturday.

His form up front has delighted coach Terry Pashley who admitted: "He is doing very well at the moment, he is looking sharp."

The goal gave Burnley the lead in the 30th minute but did not prove enough for a second successive win in the Merit League.

But while it was Hindle who grabbed the goal it was another youngster who has impressed in recent weeks that did the hard work to set up the chance to score.

Richard Chaplow has been looking strong in recent weeks, most notably in the Lancashire Youth Cup defeat by Tranmere, and Pashley said: "Richard did the work for him with some good play in midfield that put him clean through and it was a one touch finish."

Chaplow is in his second year as a scholar at Turf Moor and is starting to develop but it will soon be make or break time for striker Hindle who is in his third and final year.

Like many hundreds of youngsters at clubs across the country he must wait and see whether he has done enough to earn a full professional contract or whether the loss of the ITV Digital money will force the club to let him go.

Others to be waiting to find out their future include Joel Pilkington and Matty O'Neill.

"Joel had a chance to win it for us at the weekend but the ball got stuck under his feet," said Pashley. "Matty enjoyed a good game because it was a very wide pitch and so he managed to see a lot of the ball."

The equaliser came when a forward pass was deflected over young right back James Heywood and the home striker found the net.

"It was a pretty even game but on chances I think we shaded it," said Pashley who saw a Steven Richardson header cleared off the line to deny his side another win.

The youngsters are in action again at the weekend when they go to Bradford City. The following day the lads will be glued to their televisions, hoping the senior squad can get to the semi-final of the FA Cup and keep the great buzz going at the club.