FA CUP specialists Harrogate Railway are back on the glory trail tomorrow when they travel to Northern League division one outfit Esh Winning.

The Railwaymen made more than a few headlines - as well as a nice little cash fund - last season on their way to the fourth qualifying round, where they were finally beaten 3-2 in the final minutes by Conference side Morecambe.

And this year's Cup has already got Rail noticed again - with Paul Marshall's men knocking out FA Vase holders Whitely Bay 5-4 in a dramatic preliminary round replay at Station View.

Winning, who are in the same division as Bay, will pose a similar threat to Rail - with a strong forward line.

And with Rail leaking goals at the back, Marshall has been forced into drastic action, with 17-year-old centre-half Greg Anderson set to be thrown in at the deep end.

"It is a bit of a risk, but from what I've seen of him in pre-season he is more than competent," said Marshall. "It is one of those where he will either sink or swim.

"This is our biggest game since the Morecambe match. We've been playing well in patches but we keep conceding stupid goals, so that is a bit of a worry."

Marshall is without Nigel Danby, Mark Watkinson, Adam Tye, Steve Haddon and Ian Hart.

But Mattie Flynn returns to the club from Liversedge, while Shaun Constable and Danny Philpott are both available again.

Selby Town are on the road to Thornaby as they look to the Cup to breathe life into their flagging season.

With dreams of success in the FA Vase already brought to an end and a run of disappointing defeats in the league, Selby desperately need a victory to turn their season around.

Pickering Town boss Steve Brown knows the next three weeks are vital as he looks to stabilise the club in the Northern Counties East League premier division.

Since replacing Jimmy Reid in the hot seat, Brown has seen his rebuilding hampered by the loss of several key players and injuries to others.

And things will not get any easier when the Pikes travel to highly-fancied Brigg Town.

"Things need to settle down and we need to get some continuity," said Brown. "The next two or three weeks will be vital.

"Myself and Richard (Rose, Town's assistant boss) will have to have a good look at the situation. We have to be careful, as we don't want to bring masses of new players in, especially when there are some good youngsters coming through."

But Brown could be forced to tinker with his line-up again tomorrow, with Phil O'Reilly and Alex Wilgrass set to return from injury, while Danny Farthing, who played for the Pikes on Tuesday, could be recalled by Harrogate Town.

In NCEL division one, Tadcaster Albion chief Wayne Day will be hoping to finally get off the mark when his side travel to Gedling.

Despite putting in some impressive performances, The Park-based club have yet to pick up a point from their opening three games.

Having seen his goal-shy squad struggle to convert the chances created, Day will swap his strikers with Kevin Duckworth set to be dropped to the bench and Steve Batley unavailable. Dave Dickinson will start with Darren Wilson and Leon Daniel vying for the second spot.

Day said: "We are simply not scoring enough, and it is worrying when you look at the amount of chances we are creating. Our goals to chances ratio is poor.

"Dave (Dickinson) will get another chance, so it is all about who will partner him."

Ben Pollard, Gavin McCune and Gareth Williams are all away on a stag do, while Paul James is a doubt with a groin strain.

Tomorrow's squads

Harrogate Railway (at Esh Winning): Neale, McDaid, McLean, Ames, Anderson, Wilson, Stansfield, Constable, Gore, Walker, Davey, Sunley, Smith, Metcalfe, Philpott. Flynn.

Harrogate Town (at Vauxhall Motors): Hill, Connor, Aspin, Merris, McNaughton, Sykes, Turley, Donaldson, Thompson, Hunter, Marcelle, Lennon, Fielding, Aldbury.

Tadcaster Albion (at Gedling): Barford, James, Hickes, Lumb, Pitts, Godwin, Jollands, Maguire, Hick, Dufton, Gaughan, Dickinson, Shaw, Duckworth, Wilson, Daniel.

Updated: 12:12 Friday, September 13, 2002