SHARP-SHOOTER Peter Duffield returns to his former club tomorrow hoping to fire York City into the play-off frame.

Despite the Minstermen's indifferent start to the season, Monday's last-gasp victory over Barnet catapulted them up the table and only three points off a confidence-boosting play-off spot.

And Duffield, who joined the Minstermen on a free this summer after spending more than a year at Darlington, is keen to get one over his former employers and see City close in on their unbeaten arch rivals in the table.

However, after banging in 13 goals in just 26 starts last season and forming a prolific partnership with ex-City striker Marco Gabbiadini which plundered more than 40 goals, he doesn't believe he has anything to prove to his former team-mates.

"My record with them was good and I gave everything I had to the cause," he said.

"However, I left Darlington under bad terms in the sense that we had just failed to win promotion through the play-offs after being beaten by Peterborough in the final.

"We should have gone up and it was a big disappointment that we didn't. We played some good football but in the end we were the nearly men."

Despite this cloud, Duffield's departure from Darlington was amicable, although he was unsure what reception he was likely to get from the Feethams faithful.

"I left Darlington for family reasons originally. My wife's from Sheffield and I wanted to move nearer home there. Nothing had happened between me and the club and I have nothing against them at all," he said.

"They could have held me to the club under a clause in my contract but they knew of my family reasons and let me go."

Despite scoring two goals in the first four league games for the Minstermen, the diminutive hitman was disappointed he hadn't enjoyed a better start to his City career.

"I would have liked it to have been better, though I haven't been missing chances as such - they haven't really fallen to me," he said. "I've always been confident of my ability to get goals, though. I wouldn't step onto a football field if I wasn't."

City manager Terry Dolan has added John Williams to his squad for tomorrow's clash, after the big striker netted two goals - one a header - in the reserves' 3-0 win over Stoke on Wednesday.

The former Coventry forward has not figured for City's first team this season, but Dolan said: "The reserves did well on Wednesday and John looked lively, and if players are performing well in the reserves they get rewarded by coming into the first team picture.

"John got those two goals and Scott Jordan got the other, and both come into the squad."

Jordan comes in for Christian Fox, who tweaked a hamstring in training on Tuesday and misses the match, while fellow midfielder Kevin Hulme has recovered from an allergic reaction to a bee sting which ruled him out on Monday.

Goalkeeper Neville Southall continues on the bench while young starlet Russ Howarth is away on duty with the England Under-18 set-up.

PICTURE: DON'T LOOK BACK IN ANGER: Peter Duffield faces his former club Darlington at Feethams concentrating totally on his new task with York City

Darlington v City file

Nationwide League Division 3 at Feethams tomorrow 3pm

York City

From: Alan Fettis, Barry Jones, Gary Hobson, Mark Sertori, Wayne Hall, Darren Edmondson, Steve Agnew, Lee Bullock, Graham Potter, Peter Duffield, David McNiven, Kevin Hulme, Scott Jordan, Mark Thompson, John Williams, Neville Southall, Matt Hocking, Colin Alcide, Barry Conlon.

Injury news: Peter Swan (knee), Chris Fairclough (knee), Craig Skinner (thigh), Chistian Fox (hamstring)

Darlington

From: Andy Collett, Paul Heckingbottom, Craig Liddle, Adam Reed, Neil Aspin, Gary Himsworth, Martin Gray, Lee Nogan, Jesper Hjorth, Stuart Elliott, Glen Naylor, Tom Kaak, Brett Angel, Richard Hodson, Gary Williamson, Franck Van der Geest.

Injury news: Brian Atkinson (knee), Christophe Raymond (hamstring).

Referee: Eddie Wolstenholme (Blackburn)

Match Facts

City have only lost once in their last eight trips (won 2 drawn 5) to Feethams. In total they have made 45 league visits winning 11 and drawing 11 scoring 50 goals to 75.

Their biggest wins on this ground are 3-0 in 1950/1 (John Linaker, Gordon Brown and Sid Storey) and 4-1 in 1955/6 (Billy Fenton (2), Billy Hughes and Arthur Bottom).

How to get to Feethams

By car - Join motorway A1(M) at junction with A66(M), branch left to join A66(M), signposted Darlington. At roundabout first exit A66 then cross River Tees. Junction with A67/A167. At roundabout second exit A167. After about one mile, turn right into Polams Lane, then into Quakers Lane.

By train - dep York: 13.35 - arr Dalington 14.04

dep Darlington: 17.34 - arr: York 18.06

Several players have appeared for both clubs including Barry Lyons, Dennis Wann, Jimmy Seal, Kevan Smith Chris Evans, Mick Astbury, John Borthwick, Steve Tutill, Mark Samways, along with Marco Gabbiadini, Glen Naylor, Gary Himsworth and Peter Duffield.

Their last victory at Darlington was in 1992/3 when Ian Blackstone scored the only goal of the game. City's heaviest reverse at this venue was 4-0 in 1933/4