Selby Town's hopes of cementing their place at the top of the Northern Counties East premier division came to a controversial end at Harrogate Railway Athletic with a 1-0 defeat.

A solitary strike from Railway substitute Ian Hart with seven minutes left was all that separated the two sides, but Town were left fuming by referee David Richardson's decision to allow the goal to stand.

Town's players surrounded Richardson, claiming Hart had slid into young 'keeper Craig Code with his studs up, before knocking the loose ball into the empty net as the pair lay prostrate on the ground.

And if to support their claim, Code needed running repairs after the collision.

But, while Town argued the goal should not of stood, they could not really argue about the result - with Railway just about deserving the victory on the night.

Selby did pressure well early on, with the much-travelled Peter Collier going close, but the best chance of the opening half fell to Railway's leading-scorer Ian McLean, who curled in a delightful 30-yard free-kick only for Code to save well to his right.

After the break, Steve Davey should have put Railway 1-0 up, but after doing all the hard work, he took the ball far too wide of the sprawling Code.

Selby did have chances of their own with skipper Andy Hart and the constant menace of Collier and Paul Masterton, giving Rail plenty to think about.

But the tie was settled in the 83rd minute, when Hart chased down Davey's through ball and slid in to score the goal which brings Selby's unbeaten run to an end.

Updated: 12:42 Tuesday, October 09, 2001