WOMBWELL Town won a Barnsley derby at Athersley Rec 1-0 on Tuesday and now face a promotion showdown at Wakefield AFC on Saturday in NCEL Division One.

Town are third in the table with 72 points from 33 games and nine to play.

They are eight behind Horbury Town, who are in the only automatic promotion place but have played three extra games, and three behind second-placed Wakefield who have played the same amount of games as Wombwell.

Town are yet to lose a league game in 2025 while they are the only unbeaten side away from home in the division this season, with the 15 games on their travels bringing 11 wins and four draws.

Town manager Karl Rose said: “Wakefield are unbeaten in 21 and signing some big players.

“We’re looking forward to it. We think we have a right good chance of the title but we will just focus on the Wakefield game first. You play for big games like this in front of hopefully a big crowd.

“It’s a typical six-pointer and the result will have a big effect come the end of the season.

“But there is still a long way to go, nine games is nearly a quarter of the season.

“We will see where we are when there are a couple of games left.

“We’re unbeaten in ten, but we’re frustrated with a couple of home draws we think we should have won.”

Jack Dando got the winner early in the second half at Athersley.

Rose said: “We played well. We dominated a lot of possession and territory but we were disappointed we didn’t take chances and put it to bed earlier.

“Rec never stopped running and worked their socks off then gave us a nervy finish with a lot of balls in our box.

“We’re happy with a clean sheet and it’s another three points.

“We had a great following from our fans who have followed us all season.

“We appreciate it and it’s a pleasure to play in front of them.”

Rec have lost eight in a row and only won one of the last 16.

They are 18th, seven points and two places clear of the relegation zone.

Rose said: “I worry about Wombwell but I would love to see Rec stay up.

“If they play like they did against us every game, they will be in no danger.

“They have a points buffer but you would like them to get a couple of wins quickly to absolutely put that threat to bed. They worked really hard against us and played with a lot of tenacity.”

Town had drawn 3-3 at home to Swallownest on Saturday.

Cian Guest, Jordan Kershaw and Liam Owen put the hosts 3-1 up but Swallownest struck twice late on.