A NORTH Yorkshire soccer boss has revealed the winning pre-match ritual which has seen his non-league team reach the first round proper of the FA Cup for the first time in its 88-year history.

As a rare dose of cup fever mounts at Harrogate Town, player-coach Neil Aspin believes a hat-trick of goodies before kick-off is continuing to work wonders.

Aspin, the former Leeds United and Darlington player who has clocked up more than 600 league matches, says his hand-outs to players of bananas, Jaffa cakes and wine gums is giving them just the energy boost they need.

Town's latest triumph came with a 2-0 away victory at Wisbech in the fourth qualifying round last Saturday. And that has paved the way for a tie in the first round proper at Farnborough on November 16.

But there was a crisis before kick-off at Wisbech when one of the players realised they had not taken enough bananas with them.

"We simply had to buy 15 bananas from the hotel where we stayed overnight in Wisbech.

"The only shock came when we got the bill - it was £15. But we couldn't do without them even at £1 a banana so we paid up despite the amazing price", said 37-year-old Aspin, who also played for Port Vale and was part of their stirring FA Cup runs when they beat Everton and Southampton.

November 16 has been marked down as the biggest day in the town's soccer history.

For in addition to Harrogate Town's exploits, their neighbours Harrogate Railway from the Northern Counties East League are also through following their 4-2 home win against Marine.

Railway will now play Slough away on the same day.

Hundreds of fans are already making plans for a double Harrogate invasion of the south in the biggest exodus of soccer fever the town has ever seen.

Even Railway boss Paul Marshall, a former manager of Harrogate Town, says he wants to see both sides progress as far as possible in the world's most famous cup competition.

Victory for Railway came as the best present Marshall could hope for, marking his recent 40th birthday.

It is the first time either Harrogate side has reached the first round of the FA Cup after clearing a string of qualifying hurdles.