THANKS to a 6-2 loss to Bowdon’s fourths, Warrington Hockey Club men’s first missed the chance to go top of the table.

Instead, it was their visitors who stretched their lead at the summit thanks to a clinical display.

Bowdon were already two goals ahead when Dominic Bain got Warrington back into it with a penalty flick just before the break.

Two more goals were conceded before Mike Holmes added Warrington’s second, but a comeback was never on the cards as Bowdon finished strongly, scoring twice more in the closing stages.

The seconds had a much better time of things as Rob Powell’s brace helped them to a 3-1 win over their Runcorn counterparts.

Gavin Brown was also on the scoresheet in an exciting attacking display.

The women’s firsts gave as good as they got against Bowdon’s table-topping fourths but eventually fell to a 6-3 defeat under the floodlights.

Molly Rudd bagged an open-play brace while Carrie Wright scored from a short corner, with Meg Sutch producing a player-of-the-match performance in midfield.

Meanwhile, the women’s seconds were heavily beaten by high-flying Chester thirds, who picked up a crushing 11-0 victory despite the best efforts of Laura Page and Emma Steiger in the Warrington defence.