Both championship-chasing sides - Bedale and Harrogate Squash - kept on winning in their quest for silverware in the First Division championship.

Bedale picked up a full quota of 12 points in beating Knaresborough 3-0 away while Harrogate Squash garnered 11 points in defeating Northallerton 2-1.

The sides were meeting last night in a clash at Bedale which could well decide the championship.

Bedale went into last night's battle with a match in hand on table-topping Harrogate. Bedale had 154 points with Harrogate on 166.

Harrogate Squash 2 Northallerton 1 (Harrogate names first): Dave Townsend beat Phil Shackleton 5-9, 5-9, 10-8, 9-3, 9-4; Mark Harding beat Keith Johnson 9-4 7-9, 5-9, 10-8, 9-3; Nigel Hewart lost to Peter Pinkney 5-9, 9-5, 0-9, 9-1, 9-4, 4-9.

Knaresborough 0 Bedale 3 (Bedale names first): Phil Martin beat James Lambley 9-4, 9-3, 9-6; Dave Smiley beat Tim Russell 0-9, 9-4, 9-1, 9-3; Alan Peirson beat John Evans 9-4, 9-7, 4-9, 6-9, 9-2.

In Division Two Thirsk made sure of promotion, beating Pateley Bridge 2-1 away. They now aim to clinch the title.

Wins by Paul Goacher and Derrick Jenkinson assured promotion for Thirsk. Steve Terry was Pateley's winner.

Boroughbridge, newcomers in Division Three, are celebrating promotion after beating Thirsk III 3-0. Simon Robinson, Joe Royle and Stuart Rennison's victories put the seal on a memorable season for the league debutants.

Division One: Harrogate Squash 2 (Dave Townsend, Mark Harding) Northallerton 1 (Peter Pinkney); Knaresborough 0 Bedale 3 (Phil Martin, Dave Smiley, Alan Peirson); Harlow 1 (Rob Cunningham) Harrogate Squash II 2 (Nicola Pratt, Bob Peacock).

Division Two: Pateley Bridge 1 (Steve Terry) Thirsk 2 (Paul Goacher, Derrick Jenkinson); Thirsk II 2 (Steve Whiteley, Steve Snodgrass) Thorpe Perrow 1 (Tony Waldron); Bedale IV 1 (Andy Hawkswell) Bedale III 2 (Andy Sedgwick, Geoff Coles); Knaresborough II 1 (Martyn Gibson, Peter Bottomley) Harlow II 1 (Dan Lupton).

Division Three: Boroughbridge 3 (Simon Robinson, Joe Royle, Stuart Rennison) Thirsk III 0; Harlow III 0 Knaresborough III 3 (Phil Strong, Ray Geary, Phil Smelt); Harrogate Squash IV 3 (Ian Simmons, Karen Leake John Elsworth) Pateley Bridge II 0; Harrogate Squash V 1 James Styrin) Wensleydale IV 2 (John Chilton, Chris Taplin).

Kall Kwik Harrogate and District League

Harrogate Squash edged into top spot by a whisker over Ilkley as a nail-biting finale to the season looks set for a photo finish in Division One.

Tension at the top was heightened when Harrogate Squash defated Ilkley 2-1 away, collecting nine points while Ilkley secured seven.

Victory for Harrogate was enough to put them into top spot, replacing Ilkley with both sides on 184 points. Squash took over at the head of Division One having won 16 matches to Ilkley's 15.

Ilkley turned out one of their big guns - Shelley Kitchen, the New Zealand international who is using the Ilkley club as a coaching base. She played the four opening matches of the season in the league.

But despite a bright start in her latest clash, winning the opening two games, she went down 3-2 to a storming comeback by Adam Nowakowski.

Harrogate's other win came from Adam's father Tony. He too lost the first two games ahead of a barnstorming comeback against Gareth Hutchinson.

But while the top two were battling it out in Wharfedale, Adel took the full quota of 12 points in their 3-0 home win against Collingham to close the gap.

Adel, who are third, have 178 points. The top three sides have each played 19 matches. Harrogate remain favourites to win the title.

Ilkley 1 Harrogate Squash 2 (Ilkley names first): Shelley Kitchen lost to Adam Nowakowski 9-1, 9-7, 2-9, 0-9, 5-9; Gareth Hutchinson lost to Tony Nowakowski 9-5, 10-8, 3-9, 6-9, 5-9; Andrew Hutchinson beat Nicola Pratt 9-4, 9-7, 9-3.

Adel 3 Collingham 0 (Adel names first): Mark Ambler beat Matthew Cooke 10-9, 9-7, 9-5; Steve Glynn beat Anthony Kettlewell 5-9, 10-8, 10-8, 5-9, 9-6; Jon Hodgson beat Paul Hill 9-4, 10-9, 9-5.

Division One: Moortown 3 (Phil Davis, Geoff Mortimer, Graham Snowden) Harlow 0; Harrogate Squash II 2 (Simon Myring, Steve Whiteley) Scott Hall 1 (Scott Wilson); Collingham II 0 Chapel Allerton 3 (Nick Murrills, Nick King, Peter Little); Nomads 3 (Joe Wilson, Neil Turnbull, Jonathan Round) Otley 0; Ilkley 1 (Andrew Hutchinson) Harrogate Squash 2 (Adam Nowakowski, Tony Nowakowski); Adel 3 (Mark Ambler, Steve Glynn, Jon Hodgson) Collingham 0.

Inter County Championship

Harrogate's Jenny Duncalf played at first string for Yorkshire at Manchester.

Duncalf, the Harrogate Squash club player, hit back to beat Stephanie Brind 7-9 9-4, 9-4, 9-4 to help Yorkshire beat Kent 5-0 in the semi-final.

In the final Yorkshire, whose average age was 19, went down 4-1 to Lancashire.

England international Vicky Botwright defeated Duncalf at first string 9-1, 9-4, 9-2.

Yorkshire captain Claire Fleetwood said of her young charges: "They all battled hard, but we were missing some of ur key players and trying to cope with two England internationals at one and two proved just too much for us."

Yorkshire were beaten 4-1 in the men's final by Surrey, giving the southerners their first title sucess since 1961.