THIRTY-THREE places separate Tadcaster Albion from Selby Town in the Northern Counties East League set-up but that gap will go west when the two rivals collide tomorrow.

Runaway NCEL premier division leaders Tadcaster host the division one outfit at Ings Lane in the quarter-final of the West Riding County Cup, kick-off 7.45pm.

While on paper the tie should be a formality for the pace-setters, Albion boss Paul Marshall said the X-factor of what a derby showdown entails will guarantee his high-fliers prepare properly for one of their toughest tussles of the season so far.

Said Marshall: “Selby will be up for this no doubt, especially as quite a few of their current players were here at Tadcaster.

“They will be hard to beat - that will always be the case with someone like Arran Reid, who used to play for us, in goal. All of us here at Tad know that Selby Town are a well-respected club, so we will have to put in a solid performance if we are to win.”

The Brewers boss underlined his determination of gunning for success on several fronts, including the West Riding County Cup.

“We want to win every game of football we play this season.

“This is another competition to go out to win so we want to get through tomorrow. I have a 19-man squad who are all capable of playing in the first team without weakening it.”

There will be at least one change from the Albion side which, for the second successive outing, displayed ice-cool nerve to win with a late surge, this time earning a place in the third round of the FA Vase against obdurate Northern League visitors Morpeth Town.

With first-choice goalkeeper Tom Morgan suspended for next Saturday’s NCEL clash at Worksop, Peter Lawrie will don the gloves against the Robins to give him game-time ahead of the weekend fixture.

Also returning to the front-line for the hosts will be Vincent Dhesi, who because of the striking form of Calum Ward, Carl Stewart and Josh Greening, has spent the last few weeks on the bench.

Marshall’s Selby counterpart Dave Ricardo said he and his first division mid-table charges were keenly looking forward to the knockout derby.

Boasting a strong cup record this term the Robins’ chief said: “It’s a great incentive for our players to put on a show.

“Playing against the likes of Tadcaster, who are going so well this season, the lads will be able to fully test themselves and see if they can step up.

“If you don’t want to be playing a in a game like this when it’s a derby, it’s a cup-tie and there’s likely to be a big crowd, then you should not be playing at this level.”