THIS Saturday St Helens Town travel to Leeds to meet Yorkshire Amateurs in the first round of the Carlsberg FA Vase, kick off 3pm.

The coach leaves Knowsley Road at 11am. In the past, a final appearance at Wembley Stadium has always been the spur for all participants but with the famous old ground being re-built is likely this year's final will be at a premier league ground geographically neutral to both finalists.

Town lost ground in the league last week by simply not playing as two scheduled fixtures were cancelled when firstly in mid-week, Leek CSOB's visit to Knowsley Road was cancelled as by Wednesday the fuel crisis was at its most acute.

On Saturday Fleetwood's involvement in the AXA FA Cup meant another blank day but at least it gave more time for injuries to Gary Jones, Alan Johnson and Lee Cooper to heal.

With both the Carlsberg FA Vase and AXA FA Cup running concurrently now, there is likely to be some fixture juggling for all NWCL clubs and one already confirmed alteration is St Helens Towns trip to Mossley on Saturday September 30. The Lillywhites' fine cup run keeps them pre-occupied and Town will now travel to Curzon Ashton instead.

A long overdue return to Knowsley Road is set for Wednesday, September 27, when Cheadle Town are the visitors, kick off 7.45pm, but again this is subject to Vase replays. Should Town need a replay to overcome Yorkshire Amateurs, this will take place instead on the same evening but with an 8pm kick-off.

The permutations are varied but supporters should ring the NWCL Leagueline 09066 555 944 for confirmations from Saturday evening.

Despite the recent inactivity on the park things have been moving behind the scenes and it was good news this week when inspirational mid-fielder Ged Hinnigan agreed a contract deal. Hinnigan, one of the keystones of Jimmy McBride's summer 'head hunt' was the target of an offer from his previous club Droylsden but has ended the speculation by remaining at Knowsley Road and is more than happy to get on with the job.