Crewe & Nantwich RUFC lost top spot in Midlands Two West (North) after a narrow defeat to title rivals Leek.
Crewe & Nantwich went down 22-15 as the two unbeaten sides locked horns at the Vagrants.
The defeat ends the 1st team’s amazing start to the 2013-14, in which they have won 11 out of 11 games in all competitions.
A large crowd watched a tight affair at the Newcastle Road ground, and the hosts took the lead with Tim Cowap diving over in the corner.
But the fast start stuttered when they were reduced to 14 men just 12 minutes into the match for a punching incident.
Leek took advantage when Liam McDermott gathered a blindside pass to level the scores.
Crewe hit back through a try by Aaron Voller, but Leek replacement Sam Hunt touched down to see the teams locked at 12-12 at the break.
A Jamie Little penalty put Crewe back in front at 15-12, but the visitors showed resilience and took the lead with just 11 minutes to go.
Ad Nettel dived over and a Gary McDermott conversion gave them a 19-15 lead.
With five minutes to go, Crewe’s defence was forced to slow down Leek’s attacking drive and gave away a penalty.
McDermott slotted it through the posts to clinch victory.
But Andy Brown’s men should not be too disheartened, and will travel to another high-flying team in Ludlow this weekend with spirits up.
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