HARROGATE Railway can take a huge stride towards promotion to the UniBond League tonight.

They travel to rivals Sheffield knowing that victory will put them tantalisingly close to the coveted third spot in the premier division of the Northern Counties East League.

Buxton have already been crowned champions and confirmed their status with a 1-0 home win over second-placed Liversedge last night.

However, Liversedge's ground is not up to UniBond standard so third place will be good enough for either Railway, Sheffield or Arnold Town - all whose stadia meet the relevant criteria - to go up.

Harrogate will have the psychological edge after beating Sheffield 1-0 at home on Saturday, but the South Yorkshire side are on home turf tonight and had the satisfaction of defeating Buxton 1-0 at the Coach and Horses Ground.

Victory for Rail would rule Sheffield out of the promotion picture but if the sides draw then fifth placed Arnold - just a point behind - will be ready to pounce.

Arnold maintained their challenge with a deserved 2-1 victory at Pickering last night and play at Mickleover Sports tomorrow before completing their campaign in what could be the promotion decider against Harrogate Railway on Saturday.

The Nottinghamshire side took a 49th minute lead when Tony Brown headed home a cross from Scott Huckerby, brother of Norwich City striker Carl. Two minutes later Ben Middleton cashed in on a defensive mix-up to make it 2-0.

The Pikes pulled a goal back seven minutes from the end when Jamie Ramm fed Liam Stillgoe and his centre was tapped in by Danny Brunton.

Pickering will finish their campaign with a double header against Selby Town, whom they entertain on Saturday before visiting Flaxley Road on Bank Holiday Monday.

Selby eased to a 2-0 home win over Mickleover Sports last night but had to wait until the 74th minute to crack the opposition when Tom Reid fired home a free-kick.

Joe Connor and Chris Kamara then combined for Steve Rollinson to make sure of maximum points and set Selby up for their President's Cup final second leg at Flaxley Road against Buxton, who hold a 1-0 advantage.

Goole's plight near the foot of UniBond League division one worsened last night when they crashed 4-1 at home to Ossett Albion.

Scarborough remained second bottom of the Nationwide Conference after basement club Forest Green lost 2-1 to ten-man Woking.

However, Southport retained their Conference status with a 1-1 draw at high-flying Grays.

Updated: 10:42 Wednesday, April 26, 2006