WITNEY fell to their first defeat in five games as they were beaten 20-14 at high-flying Salisbury.

The result leaves them fourth in South West 1 East ahead of their season finale at home to Leighton Buzzard on Saturday.

Second-placed Salisbury could have taken the lead on ten minutes, but Rhys Morgan made a try-saving tackle to deny scrum half David Tonge.

And it was Witney who opened the scoring, capitalising on a poor line-out which led to Ben Fisk speeding over in the corner for an unconverted try.

The home side hit back through a Tom Lane penalty and opened up a 10-5 lead when Tonge crossed.

Lane added the extras.

Henry Lamb kicked a penalty for Witney, but Salisbury immediately responded when the re-start was knocked back and mishandled.

The hosts gathered and drove forward, and Richard West crashed over. Lane converted to make it 17-8.

Lamb replied with another penalty just before half-time to cut the deficit to six points.

Two minutes after the break, three more points from Lamb’s boot made it 17-14.

The visitors then had a chance to take the lead on 60 minutes, but a forward pass denied a try.

Despite dominating the second half, a Witney player was penalised for offside in extra time and Lane’s penalty ensured victory for the hosts.

In the BB&O Premier, Chipping Norton handed a walkover to Milton Keynes because they had two front-row players unavailable.