LOCAL rivals Mole Valley SCR and Dorking will finally lock horns next week, in a game that will go a long way to deciding the outcome of both side's seasons.

The pair were due to meet once before Christmas and once just after, but both matches were called off due to the weather.

The postponements mean that the two teams will now have to face each other twice in the final throes of what has been an exciting Combined Counties League Division One campaign - the first encounter being played at SCR's River Lane home next Tuesday (April 7).

Mole Valley remain top of the table, despite a disappointing defeat at Farleigh Rovers last weekend, and will look to put further distance between themselves and the chasing pack at Frimley Green on Saturday.

Dorking's chances of promotion remain far more remote.

Following consecutive mid-week home defeats to Knaphill and Farnham, Tony Webb's side fell some way off the pace at the top, before a comfortable win at Crescent Rovers at the weekend kept their hopes alive.

However, in other areas the equation is far more simple for Dorking than it is for SCR.

With Meadowbank already being passed fit by the league for Premier Division football - Dorking's tenants Bookham play in that division - the Chicks simply need to secure a top three position to be sure of promotion.

At River Lane Mole Valley have worked wonders on their facilities but still face a nervous wait to discover whether the CCL deem the Fetcham-based ground good enough for the higher level.

The works deadline passed on Tuesday (March 31) and a decision was expected to be made at noon yesterday (Wednesday), but at the time of going to press it wasn't clear what verdict had been reached.

Come what may, SCR have performed miracles on and off the field in this their first season in the CCL, and manager Darren Salmon is looking forward to testing themselves against their more established neighbours.

"The Dorking match is a really big game for us and we are expecting a very tough match," he said.

"It's a local derby and although they've had a couple of strange results in the past few weeks we still regard the two games with them as two of the tougher ones we have remaining.

"We have got six games left this season and I think if we win five of those then the title will be ours."

For Dorking boss Webb the game is "a must win match".

"We let ourselves down against Knaphill and Farnham and that has really taken things out of our own hands," he said.

"But Mole Valley are actually one of the sides that we can go past at the top. They are 11 points clear of us, but we have two games in hand on them and we have to play them twice. That's a 12 point swing if we win all our games.

"But, we know that isn't going to be easy and we have really given ourselves an uphill challenge if we are going to go up this season."

Tuesday night's game also sees the meeting of arguably the two deadliest strikers in the league.

SCR's Jay Holden has been the stand out performer in division one this season, comfortably topping the goal scoring charts. But in Phil Page, Dorking have their own in-form centre forward.

"Phil is a fantastic player and has scored in the last 11 matches for us, so he'll be a handful for any team right now," said Webb.

The match kicks-off at Mole Valley's River Lane ground at 7.45pm.