THE famous 'road to Cardiff' begins again for three of the region's non-League clubs on Saturday and all will be big underdogs in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup.

Both Harrogate Railway and Selby Town face difficult trips over the Pennines to UniBond League sides Rossendale United and Chorley respectively, while fellow Northern Counties East League premier division outfit Pickering Town also visit a UniBond division one club, heading north to Bishop Auckland.

Railway will no doubt be wanting to emulate the FA Cup heroics of last season when, under Paul Marshall, they went all the way to the second round proper, where they eventually succumbed to Division Two side Bristol City in front of live TV cameras at Station View.

Now under new boss Dave Harrison they have stuttered in the league with just one win from seven games, but their knockout pedigree suggests they will give Rossendale a tough ride.

Selby have been quick out of the blocks this season, topping the table with no defeats from six games, and will hope to continue that form in the Cup.

And of all the NCEL sides facing higher-ranked opposition, the Robins, who made it through the preliminary round on penalties against Washington, will perhaps be in the best position to cause an upset, going in against a side languishing third from bottom of their table.

Town manager Bob Lyon said: "It's a tough one, but we have had two more wins since we beat Washington.

"We had three or four lads out for our Tuesday game against Mickleover (a 3-2 win), and I am hoping they will be fit for the tie.

"Chorley are a league above us, and a good side, but I feel if we get the lads back and really pull it all together we could see a few surprises.

"We are unbeaten this season, it's a great start for us, so we will be looking to see what we can do to keep our run going."

Pickering boss Steve Brown has key man Danny Farthing back available and reckons his team could shock the County Durham side.

"Bishop Auckland had a good start but have had a couple of defeats and a draw in their last three games so they will be looking to bounce back a little, especially at home, therefore we can expect a tough game," he said.

"But we've nothing to lose and we might as well have a good go at it. I would only be upset if we don't do ourselves justice and give them a hard time, and at our best I'm sure we are capable of causing an upset."

In-form Harrogate Town, who join the FA Cup in the next round, will look to continue their run of four UniBond League premier division wins as they entertain Runcorn FC Halton.

Boss John Reed said: "I keep saying to the players we will only get better. We've won matches without playing particularly well. We want to keep this run going for as long as possible because winning can become a habit and if you get into a habit, just like if you're losing, it's hard to break.

"We're enjoying what we've done so far. We've got to the giddy heights of joint second - third on goal difference - and we're trying our best to maintain what we've done and we'll be giving it our all to sustain a top three position."

Reed, though, is limited for choice on squad selection due to injuries. Mike McNaughton and Robbie Whellans were both used as substitutes in Tuesday's win over Blyth despite carrying knocks, while player-coach Neil Aspin was carried off and will be a doubt tomorrow along with Gary Bradshaw and Mark Smith. "We're down to the bare bones but we've got great spirit," added Reed.

Tadcaster Albion, knocked out of the FA Cup in the preliminary round, are in NCEL division one action away to Winterton Rangers.

Albion, without a win in the league, got their season off the mark with a victory in the FA Vase last week and will look to return to winning ways following their midweek league defeat at Lincoln Moorlands.

Updated: 11:40 Friday, September 12, 2003