Northern Counties East League premier division leaders Selby Town will have to sit and watch this week as their only challengers Harrogate Railway and Goole aim to keep themselves in the race for the title.

Both are at home against teams languishing near the bottom, and both need maximum points to count themselves in to the final week.

Harrogate Railway host 17th-placed Armthorpe Welfare in their first home game since January with a notable list of injuries. Skipper Scott Bairstow, Phil Turner, Andy Shuttleworth and Robbie Whellans are all sidelined forcing Scott Ryan and Ryan Haigh to play at full-back.

But fingers are crossed for a return by Damien Holmes to free up Ryan or Haigh into the middle of the park.

Railway boss Martin Haresign said: "Our home form hasn't been that great but I honestly think that was because we had been playing there so much it wasn't special. But I think it will be nice to be back in front of our fans -- especially as we are still in with a chance of the title."

Joe Gaughan has broken two ribs and will miss Goole's clash with Borrowash Victoria, although Jimmy Gore will return from suspension.

But some close results for bottom-placed Victoria against Selby, Liversedge and Sheffield will see Paul Marshall urge his side not to be complacent.

Pickering Town go to Buxton to work on their top-five finish.

A win for Harrogate Town against lowly Moor Green tomorrow will keep them tucked in the third Nationwide North play-off place going into the final two games of the season.

Kettering Town won in mid-week to close the gap behind Harrogate to a single point, but the North Yorkshire side have the upper hand and will keep it by maintaining their good home form in front of a crowd that is expected to be bolstered by a scheme admitting children under-12 free when accompanied by an adult.

Highly-rated Tadcaster Albion midfielder Paul James will miss tomorrow's last game of the season as he waits for surgery on a fractured cheekbone -- a souvenir from Tuesday's 2-2 draw against Lincoln Moorlands.

The creative man has had a nightmare campaign that kicked off with a broken foot the week before the season started after starring through pre-season and ended with a suspension for a red card and hospitalisation after getting an elbow in the face.

But despite the incident taking place in front of the referee no action was taken, leading manager Jim Collis to blast the inconsistency.

He said: "I don't know if it was accidental or deliberate and I don't like to see players sent off but how the referee did not send the lad off is a joke.

"We have had two lads red-carded recently for petty things - Paul James was one, as well as Dale Waddington. And Matty Cressey got a three-month ban for nothing more than handbags -- even the other team wrote in to say there was no headbutt -- and that got reduced to six weeks."

Other than the absent James and a slight hamstring doubt for Matty Howgate, Albion will be at full-strength for the trip to Rossington Main and aim to round off a good season in style.

Updated: 10:13 Friday, April 15, 2005