While independent arbitration is the business of others at Elland Road, Gary McAllister would be lying if he said the review of United's 15-point penalty was nothing to do with him.

A dispute which, on occasions, had been accompanied by the sound of straws being clutched in Yorkshire will be settled next week when the deduction handed to Leeds by the Football League is examined in detail by three legal experts, and the implications of their decision for McAllister and his club are too important to overlook.

United's manager is sensibly cautious when asked about arbitration, but his squad are doing what they can to pre-empt a pivotal hearing.

Yesterday's pulsating victory over Carlisle ensured that the door to second place will be opened wide should Leeds bring their challenge against the Football League to a successful conclusion. It was a case of United maximising their potential, and leaving them in a position to hope for the best.

Of more importance yesterday, however, was a dramatic win over the club who hold second position in League One and who struggled gamely at Elland Road before succumbing to Dougie Freedman's 69th-minute goal.

John Ward, Carlisle's manager, admitted afterwards that he was proud to be associated with what was an epic contest, and whichever side of the fence the arbitration panel favour next week, neither Leeds nor Carlisle should feel that they have claimed second place by default.

Both clubs are worthy of a position in the Championship next season.

Leeds took a firmer grip of League One's final play-off position through their 3-2 victory, and that mattered more to McAllister than the what ifs thrown up by arbitration. Legal matters are beyond his control; finishing inside the top six is certainly not. With four games remaining it is ever more likely that United will achieve at least the lesser of their two possible targets.

Freedman's winning goal was a delightful volley, and a finish which was all the more satisfying for the fact that illness had threatened to estrange him from yesterday's match.

Mark Clattenburg – the referee originally reserved for Carlisle's visit – was less fortunate than Freedman, and Lee Probert was scrambled to Yorkshire on Friday night after Clattenburg succumbed to a sudden bout of sickness.

Probert was responsible for officiating United's fixtures at Cheltenham and Southend earlier in the season, both of which saw Leeds beaten, but Freedman's brace prevented him from completing an expensive treble at Elland Road.

Yesterday's match was the pick of League One's fixtures, heightened in significance by the impending ruling on United's 15-point penalty.

Ward had vowed to ignore the possible implications of a decision to revoke United's deduction, but it was an issue which both teams were aware of, and an issue over which Leeds and their Cumbrian visitors had most at stake.