BELEAGUERED Selby Town will have to upset the cup specialists from Harrogate Railway if they are to finally register their first win in the Northern Counties East League premier division.

The Robins have yet to find first gear this season, with a lack of goals contributing to their misery at the bottom of the pile, but things could be about to change.

After failing to hit the target in their opening three league games, Selby have now managed three goals in their last two matches and although they remain pointless, they are heading in the right direction.

Boss Bob Lyon will again be looking to the experienced Andy Cygan and Pete Collier to lead the line against their old foes from Station View, while Alan Clayton will looking to add to his tally after opening his account on Saturday in his first start.

The Railwaymen have enjoyed mixed fortunes in the league so far, with their money-spinning jaunts in the FA Cup and FA Vase keeping the club occupied.

But after the thrills and spills of their epic encounter against Chester-le-Street Town in the third qualifying round of the FA Cup - a tie which saw 19 goals over two games - boss Paul Marshall will have bring his troops back to earth.

"It'll be a tough game," said Marshall. "Selby may be struggling at the moment but they always seem to raise their game for us.

"They might not be scoring, but we have been giving goals away for fun of late."

Leading goal-scorer Steve Davey is definitely out with a broken jaw, so Mattie Flynn should start with Ian Harte back in the squad.

After a solid opening to the campaign, Pickering Town have slumped into the bottom three of the table and they will be looking to the visit of Garforth Town to revive their fortunes.

Pickering's 2-1 reverse at Buxton was their sixth straight defeat and boss Steve Brown is hoping the slump will now stop tomorrow.

"Our position in the table is poor," he said. "We've had a good session on the training ground and that is what we needed.

"We should have beaten Buxton on Saturday. We did well for an hour then we just sat back and invited pressure. We've done that far too often this season."

Alex Wilgrass is unavailable, but highly-rated midfielder Danny Farthing comes straight in.

Tadcaster Albion boss Wayne Day knows his side must stop the rot when they entertain Rossington Main in division one.

Taddy remain rooted to the bottom after failing to get off the mark this season, but the poor form of those around them means they are not adrift.

In fact, the arrival of Main to The Park tomorrow will guarantee one thing - at least one of the rivals will finish the game with their first point or points of the season, with the Doncaster-based outfit having lost all their opening games.

Harrogate Town will welcome back their 'big guns' for the trip to Runcorn FC Halton in the UniBond League premier division.

Skipper Robbie Whellans and player-coach Neil Aspin are both set to start as Town chief John Reed looks to get his side back on track.

Former Southend, Leyton Orient and Crystal Palace striker Jason Harris, who has returned to the club after a stint in the Conference with Nuneaton, should partner Whellans up front, while Simon Sturdy, who was at fault for two of Gateshead's three goals on Tuesday, looks set to make way for the experience of Aspin.

Tomorrow's squads

Harrogate Railway (at Selby Town): Neale, Walker, Danby, Ames, Watkinson, McLean, McDaid, Stansfield, Gore, Constable, Flynn, Smith, Sunley, Philpott, Harte.

Pickering Town (v Garforth): Martin, Connor, Chapman, Vasey, Kamara, Crawford, Farthing, Dickinson, Rhodes, Dale, Wood, O'Reilly, Beech, Anderson, Wash.

Harrogate Town (at Runcorn): Connor, Hill, Aspin, McNaughton, Turley, Merris, Bonsall, Thompson, Richardson, Marcelle, Sykes, Harris, Whellans, Jackson, Richardson, Kerr, Sturdy.

Updated: 10:47 Friday, October 04, 2002