PICKERING Town could dent Goole's hopes of a second-placed finish in the Northern Counties East League premier division tomorrow.

Having seen the chance of the title and promotion all but slip from their grasp, the Vikings are still determined to at least finish the season as runners-up.

But a slip-up in midweek against Selby Town has caused a few nervous flutters and Pickering will be ready to pounce tomorrow.

"We are looking forward to it," said boss Steve Brown. "I saw that they lost to Selby, but we've tended to do better against the top teams anyway this season than those at the bottom.

"Plus this is the sort of game the lads like as it has a real local flavour."

James Drinkall is definitely unavailable, so Alex Mathie and Joe Connor come back into the reckoning, while Brown could add a few of the club's talented juniors to the squad.

Centre-midfielder Steve Young and defender John Elwood are among those who will both get a chance to impress at first team level.

Selby Town will be out to get the victory they need to make certain they cannot be pulled into the relegation dogfight.

Despite being four places above the drop zone, the Robins are still not mathematically clear yet, but a win will be enough to secure them their premier division future.

And Bob Lyon's charges will travel to fifth-placed Buxton buoyed by their midweek success over Goole, with experienced striker Andy Cygan hitting top form.

Battle-weary Harrogate Railway will have their top-five credentials put under scrutiny when they travel to Thackley.

The club had been aiming to finish in the top five this season, but back-to-back defeats during an horrendous backlog of fixtures has seen them slip off the pace.

However, they can go a long way to forcing their way back into the reckoning with a win over sixth-placed Thackley.

Division one promotion chasers Shirebrook Town will be weary of the threat posed by Tadcaster Albion.

Shirebrook are slugging it out with Long Eaton United for the second promotion spot, behind champions Mickleover Sports.

However, Taddy could just throw a spanner in the works having found a touch of class at last - albeit 28 games too late.

The Park-based side racked up a 6-1 win over Maltby Main last week and will be keen to maintain their little run of form.

West Riding County Cup champions Harrogate Town will look to profit from Burscough's own cup success when they head across the Pennines tomorrow.

Despite a disappointing league campaign, Burscough have struck gold in the FA Trophy, with former Aston Villa defender Shaun Teale netting the only goal in Saturday's semi-final second leg victory over Aylesbury in the last minute to seal his side's place in the final.

Town boss John Reed is hoping his side can catch them in their post-celebrations and cement their own place in the top six of the UniBond League premier division.

Reed will have a few selection dilemmas with Lee Cowling, James McDaid, Marc Smith, Scott Jackson and Stuart Elliott all eligible to play after missing the 3-1 extra time West Riding Cup final victory over Farsley Celtic in midweek.

Updated: 11:17 Friday, April 18, 2003