THIRD-PLACED Congleton went down to a decisive 24-3 defeat at second-placed Dukinfield at the weekend in a match which promised to be a close affair.

Dukinfield missed a penalty after only three minutes, and Congleton took the lead in the 20th minute when fly half Mark Wionship kicked a penalty.

Dukinfield fought back to equalise a few minutes later from a penalty in front of the posts, and scored their first try with a 38th minute touchdown following a ball against the head.

The home side survived sustained Congleton pressure early in the second half to bounce back with an unconverted second try on the hour.

Dukinfield made it 18-3 just four minutes later with another unconverted touchdown, and kicked a penalty with five minutes to go to extend their lead to 18 points.

The home side's tight head prop was sent off in the dying minutes after an incident in the scrum, and Dukinfield kicked a penalty with only seconds remaining.

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