A gritty display saw Hall Road Rangers record a narrow 1-0 victory at Rossington Main and inflict their hosts first defeat in six games.
In a game with very few clear cut chances in testing, windy conditions, Chris Spinks penalty eleven minutes before the interval was the decisive blow that seperated the two teams as Rangers moved a step closer to promotion.
Rangers were without Jamie Coulson through unavailability whilst Sam Belcher failed to fully shake off a groin injury which kept him out for the second game running.
Josh Batty, Danny Norton and Chris Spinks were all restored to the starting lineup whilst Craig Muirhead and Joe Cooper were somewhat unfortunate to drop to the bench after making starring roles in the 8-0 home win against Nostell.
Playing against a buffeting wind in the first half the visitors stood firm in the first half and gave very little away.
Phil Dobson made one game defining save and dealt with a number of testing crosses,
The visitors had the best chance of the opening quarter though as James Piercy met Spinks corner however his header was hacked off the line at the far post
Rangers keeper Phil Dobson was first called into action on 33 minutes.
The experienced stopper denied Jason Stokes after the Rossington man wriggled clear of James Whittingham, latching onto a ball downfield.
Dobson palmed Stokes effort away to safety with the striker bearing down on goal.
The crucial breakthrough moment came almost instantly.
From just inside the area on the left, Josh Batty flicked the ball inside to create some space and was clumsily hauled down in the area.
There was a slight pause, and after consultation with his assistant referee, the man in the middle, Pete Henger awarded a penalty.
Spinks expertly despatched the penalty to help settle any nerves sending the keeper the wrong way, netting goal number twenty-six for Rangers talismanic striker.
Hall Road had a glaring opportunity also to potentially kill the game off close to the interval when Spinks diagonal run led to him blazing over the target from the edge of the area.

Half time – Rossington Main 0, Hall Road Rangers 1 (Chris Spinks penalty 34)

Rossington shaded the second half but were wasteful with their two opportunities, Jason Stokes and Niall Simpson both missed the target when through on goal after the hour.
Hall Road were stubborn though and gave very little away, Connor Harman in particular gave protection to the back four who were led by the incompareable Ash Dexter again.
The result means that should Hall Road win their final game at Campion next week, they will not only gain promotion to the NCEL Premier Division, but will do so as champions.
Boss Dave Ricardo was quick to switch his focus to that fixture, following Rangers 29th win of the season.
“It wasn't a classic by any stretch and if I'd paid today I'd probably ask for my money back.
We will have to play to better to win at Campion next week, but its difficult to hammer the players as the importance of the result is huge and they have dug in today to keep us in the hunt.”

Full-time - Rossington Main 0, Hall Road Rangers 1 (Chris Spinks penalty 34)