Crewe & Nantwich 1sts battled hard against Stratford-upon-Avon but could not prevent slipping to another defeat.
Despite missing key players due to injuries and unavailability, Crewe headed south full of confidence on a beautiful Autumn day.
In front of a large crowd, Stratford opened the scoring but Crewe replied almost instantly after a break by Adam Deegan, finished by John Stuart.
Stratford then scored following a forward drive leaving the score 10-5 at half-time to Stratford.
The turning point came early in the second half when indiscipline meant Crewe were reduced to 14 men following a yellow card for a maul infringement.
Stratford took full advantage scoring two tries in quick succession to stretch out to a 22-5 lead.
Crewe cut the deficit with a penalty but the hosts pulled away again with two more tries.
The first from some driving forward play and the second after a clever kick and chase from the Stratford scrum half after a turnover to make the score 32-8.
To their credit, the visitors kept going until the end and in the last 10 minutes scored two further tries by Alex Caldwell and Ian Merrill, leaving the final score 32-18 to Stratford.
This weekend, Crewe take on Walsall the other team in the league getting promotion who have adapted to the league quickly and are flying.
Kick off at The Vagrants is 2.15pm.
Meanwhile, Crewe 2nd XV produced a stirring second half comeback to defeat Chester 36-27 at home.
In the Ladies fixture on Sunday the match was cancelled with Crewe being awarded a walkover win to progress into the next round of the cup.
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