WINSFORD United fell to a second league defeat in three games against fellow title chasers.
Table toppers Blues, beaten 2-0 at home by second-placed Runcorn Town earlier this month, fell 2-0 at rising Abbey Hulton United on Saturday afternoon.
Winsford seemed to overcome the setback of losing skipper Steve Jenyons from the heart of their defence in the 12th minute but faced further disruption when Ashton Brogan was shown a red card for an off-the-ball incident in the 52nd minute.
Two goals in three minutes from Tim Grice (62) and Jack Gumbley (64) against the Blues’ 10 men proved to be enough to earn Abbey an eighth win in nine outings – a run started by the 3-2 victory at Barton Stadium a month ago.
There were few chances in the first half but the best of them fell to Winsford’s Kie Brown who connected with Ewan McGeady’s cross but was denied by a fine save.
Abbey went in front after Ryan Brown parried a goal-bound Matt Ward shot but the ball fell perfectly for Grice to bury the rebound.
And two minutes later Gumbley slotted home Aaron Bott’s cross to seal the victory.
Blues remain in top spot in the Midland League Premier Division but Abbey Hulton are now only three points behind with two games in hand.
Winsford return to action on Tuesday when they visit Northwich Victoria in the league at the Apec Taxis Stadium in Runcorn.
Meanwhile, 1874 Northwich’s sorry winless sequence continued as they fell 4-0 at Runcorn Linnets.
Connor Day’s 33rd-minute effort put the hosts ahead and they wrapped up the success with further strikes from Lewis Buckley (58, 82) and Kian Bell (71).
1874, still second from bottom, host Witton Albion in the Cheshire Senior Cup on Tuesday.
Elsewhere, Barnton and AFC Bridgnorth drew 3-3 at Townfield.
The Villagers fell two goals behind but Matthew Coughlan (34) and Callum Sandle (40) hit back before the break.
Harry Watson put the home side in front for the first time from the penalty spot in the 68th minute but Bridgnorth responded almost immediately as Sam Preece ensured the visitors a share of the spoils.
Barnton were also in action on Wednesday when they defeated Cammell Laird 1907 2-0 in the Cheshire Senior Cup.
Goals from Matthew Coughlan (28) and Callum Sandle (40) did the job in sending the North West Counties League First Division North high fliers packing.
Without a game on Saturday, Witton Albion remained seventh in Northern Premier League West thanks to their stunning victory at Shifnal Town on Wednesday night.
Ben Harrison’s side left Shropshire with three points thanks to a 4-0 success against fourth-placed opponents.
Freddy Garbutt’s two goals in 10 minutes, the first a penalty, soon after the break took the contest away from Shifnal.
Ben Holmes had put them 1-0 in front just before the interval and Deji Sotona wrapped up the scoring on full time.
“It’s as good a performance as I can remember, even from being a part as a plyer,” said the delighted Albion boss.
“It was just incredible. Even if we hadn’t scored the our goals, the workrate was a joy to watch.
“To be a manager of that side makes me immensely proud.
“The scoreline on top of it added to a great victory.
“A great three points and it’s a marker for me of what we want to do this year that we can definitely achieve that.”
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