LITTLE Hulton Reds remain bottom of North West Men's League Division Three despite a spirited display in defeat at Crosfields A.

The Reds went down 20-14 in Warrington but gave their hosts a tough test before falling short.

It was a controversial opening to the game when Wesley Winder's big kick off appeared to be dropped by the hosts' full-back but the referee did not seem to spot it.

It was a lucky break for the home side and two tackles later Little Hulton were penalised for holding down, giving Crosfields good field position.

They then showed some slick handling to score the opening try of the game on the right.

The Reds responded but lost possession at critical times and that allowed Crosfields to repel their attacks.

And they increased their lead when a clever kick from the scrum-half and excellent support play led to the hosts' loose forward going under the sticks.

The successful conversion saw the Warrington side go into a 10-point lead.

It was harsh on the visitors but they kept working hard with Ross Cahill and Danny Jones more influential as the half wore on.

Reds got their rewards when Jones finally broke the Crosfields defence, fending off four would-be tacklers and racing 50 yards to score.

Crosfields hit back again and after what appeared to be a knock-on by the home side – deemed to have been touched by a Reds player – they went over again out wide.

In an open game, the deficit was reduced again when Jones crossed the line again for the visitors and Winder was able to add the extras to make it 14-10 to the hosts at the interval.

The game remained close after the restart but it was the home side who would edge further ahead after an attempted charge down left a big hole in the Reds' defence.

The Crosfields scrum-half raced through and side-stepped the full-back to go under the posts and then convert his own score.

It seemed to knock the stuffing out of Little Hulton and soon after the Warrington second-rower broke several tackles and stretched over for another try.

It looked to have pushed the game beyond Little Hulton but they showed their fighting spirit.

And with only moments of the game left big centre Mike Sherwin was able to force his way over the line after a good passing move – the decisive pass coming from Little Hulton captain Gaz Hessian.

But it was not enough to get the visitors back into the game and third-bottom Crosfields secured the points.

The reds have just two home games remaining starting with Eccleston Lions on Saturday.

In Division Four, Westhoughton Lions had no game at the weekend but return to action on Saturday when they host Rylands Sharks A – the first of three home games to end their campaign.