Staverton Park couldn’t make the most of home advantage against reigning champions Peterborough Milton as they lost 5-3 in Scratch League Division One.
Although Andrew Swain took the opening game for the hosts, Milton quickly took a stranglehold on the match by collecting the next three points.
Neil Brown defeated David Walshe 4&2, Dominic Ralfs got the better of Tom Lenton on the 17th hole, before Ian Symonds completed a 5&4 victory over Toby Inskip in game four.
Staverton teenager Josh Morris beat Peterborough veteran Richard Cole 4&3 and, with the remaining three games going the distance, all results remained possible.
Josh Scimeca grabbed a half against Russell Brown, before Neil Presto sealed victory for Milton by winning the 18th hole against newly-crowned county champion Miles Mudge.
With Adrian Firman picking up a half against Michael Franklin in the final tie, Peterborough are now top of the table with three wins from their four outings.
Cold Ashby were involved in a thrilling home division two clash with Northampton as five of the eight games reached the closing hole in a 4-4 draw.
Stuart Nicholas triumphed 4&3, but brothers Ross Skidmore and Lloyd Skidmore enjoyed 6&5 and 3&2 wins against Mark Conway and Gavin Cope respectively to give Northampton the early edge.
Brad Green made it two points apiece by beating Dominic Jessup by one hole, but Simon Brown restored the away team’s lead by defeating Paul Askew by the same mark.
After Greg Croxton saw his birdie putt on the closing hole slide by, Matt Bearman holed from 15 feet to seal victory and guarantee the visitors at least a draw.
Although both the final two ties went the distance, Northampton were unable to grab a winning half as Bob Clayton beat Alex Izzard before Graham Bott took the 18th against Lewis White.
In division three, Farthingstone strolled to victory in their home clash with Cherwell Edge as they dropped just one point to keep alive their chances of promotion.
Darren Matthews (8&6), John Whittaker (5&4), Sam Bird (6&4) and Matt Hodgkiss (5&3) collected points before Bradley Wardell sealed victory on the 18th hole.
Although Ian Donald lost 3&2, the home side grabbed their second convincing home win of the campaign thanks to points for Paul Hodgkiss (3&2) and debutante Sam Buss (5&4).
In division four, Whittlebury Park’s perfect winning record this term came to an end at Oundle as the runaway leaders crashed to a 6-2 defeat.
Once Dave Johnstone walked in with a 7&6 victory under his belt in the first game, a home success rarely looked in doubt as Oundle controlled most of the other ties. Dave Turner (2&1), Ashley Smith (5&3), Luke Wyatt (5&4), David Young (4&2) and Andy Saunders (4&2) secured the wins as the hosts moved to within two points of the leaders.