Harrogate Railway focused on winning next game rather than NCEL Division One title race

The Starbeck club’s hopes of overhauling leaders Campion have been dealt two significant blows in recent weeks, leaving them eight points off the pace in second place, albeit with a game in hand.

First of all, the Rail saw their crunch clash against their title rivals abandoned at half-time due to snow with them leading 2-1. They were then held to a 3-3 draw by struggling Nostell Miners Welfare last week, a result which left them relying on Campion suffering a significant drop off in form over the coming weeks.

They have however responded in style to their disappointing result against Nostell, thrashing Ollerton 5-0 at the weekend before cruising to a 3-1 success at Dronfield on Tuesday evening.

Those wins extended Railway’s unbeaten run to 26 matches, and O’Connell wants his players to stay focused on churning out victories rather than worrying about that gap between them and Campion.

"Up until our draw with Nostell, if we’d won our game in hand and then beaten Campion in that rearranged fixture, we’d have gone level on points with them, but that’s out of the window now,” he told the Harrogate Advertiser.

"It’s always been in Campion’s hands, and that is even more so the case now. We are relying on them dropping points.

"So our focus just needs to be on performing well in every game we have left rather than worrying about what Campion are doing.

"If we do that, and just take it game by game, then results will keep coming and that’s all I’m really bothered about at this moment in time.

"Our aim at the start of the season was to try and finish in a play-off place and we are on track to do that.

"We want to try and secure second place. If Campion drop points then brilliant, we need to be ready to try and capitalise, but like I say it’s very much in their hands now.”

First-half strikes by Jacob Robertson and Elliot Holmes put Railway 2-0 up at Dronfield before Jake Hatton pulled one back on the stroke of half-time.

But Dan Thirkell followed up after his penalty was saved to make it 3-1 in the first minute of the second period to wrap things up.

Robertson and Holmes were also on target when the Rail took Ollerton apart at Station View with Lewis Walters (2) and skipper Dan McDaid the other home players to find the back of the net.

This Saturday, O’Connell and his men travel to third-placed Rossington Main (3pm) aiming to increase the one-point gap between the sides in the league standings.