Chris Paisley birdied the par four ninth hole to climb back into a three host lead at the English Challenge after Francis McGuirk has briefly joined him at the top before a double bogey knocked him back.
McGuirk looked to be the most likely to contend Paisley going down the stretch after the 38 year old got off to a flyer with a birdie at the third followed by an eagle three at the fifth and another birdie at the sixth.
His double bogey at the seventh, however, checked his progress before pars at the eighth, ninth and tenth meant he was two under par through ten holes and 14 under for the tournament.
Paisley, meanwhile, struggled to build momentum early on, with seven pars in his opening eight holes, but did birdie the third hole to move to 16 under before he gained another shot at the ninth to keep his hopes of a first Challenge Tour victory well on track.
Espen Kofstad was still dreaming of a second win in succession as he was just three shots off the lead after reaching the 12th hole in two under par.
Nick Dougherty is on track for his best finish since his Challenge Tour debut in Colombia as he was two under through 14 and ten under for the tournament, moving into fourth place outright.
