Noble Park (173) has experienced the sour taste of defeat for the first time in more than three months after being outplayed by fifth-placed Altona (5/174) at Moodemere Oval on Saturday.
Noble entered the VSDCA round-10 clash in top spot on the ladder and elected to bat first after skipper Janaka Liyanabadalge spun favourably at the toss.
The home side had no trouble with the wicket, or the opposition bowling attack, with all bats in the top six getting starts.
The problem was a lack of a match-defining half-century with Archie Stefan (14), Yug Patel (29), Liyanabadalge (18), Sahan Perera (19), Pawan Dias (39) and Mahesh Kumara (12) all departing the scene after getting comfortable in the middle.
Noble had four partnerships in the twenties; with a maximum of 35.
Adam Yates (3/32), Ben Davies (3/45) and skipper James Grubb (2/24) did the bulk of the breakthroughs for Altona, who required 174 to keep their fifth-placed ranking on the ladder.
Opener Yeshan Gunasingha (1/44) got the home side off to a flying start; but it was pretty much one-way traffic from there.
Yates (40) and Grubb (45 not out) combined for the then highest partnership for the match (36 runs), before Grubb and Daniel Mackenzie (39 not out) surpassed that milestone with an unbeaten 59-run union.
Altona won convincingly in the end, by five wickets with 17 balls to spare.
And things are quickly getting worse for Endeavour Hills (89) who failed dismally with the bat against a rampant Werribee (5/224).
It was a long trip back over the Westgate for the Falcons after Werribee opener Dean Russ (91) and number-five Madhur Ghai (42) did most of the scoring before tea.
The falcons then folded like a deck-chair on a dodgy cruise ship in reply; Vishal Panditharatne (26) the only visiting bat to chalk up 20 runs.
Kail logan (3/22), Russ (2/7) and opener Jonathan Burton (2/34) provided Werribee with the impetus for victory.
The Falcons, now second last on the ladder, host eleventh-placed Williamstown this week, while Noble Park – now second – hits the road to take on Taylors Lakes in seventh.
VSDCA SUMMARY
Results R10 (One Day): Noble Park 173 def by Altona 5/174, Werribee 5/224 def Endeavour Hills 89, Bayswater 8/182 def by Taylors Lakes 186, Croydon 138 def by Yarraville 7/181, Donvale 178 def by Hoppers Crossing 7/307, Melton 124 def by Balwyn 210, Spotswood 166 def by Box Hill 8/167, Williamstown 9/153 def by Mt Waverley 2/154.
Ladder: Balwyn 51, Noble Park 45, Hoppers Crossing 42, Spotswood 42, Altona 40, Werribee 39, Taylors Lakes 36, Croydon 33, Bayswater 33, Melton 30, Williamstown 27, Yarraville 18, Mt Waverley 18, Box Hill 15, Endeavour Hills 15, Donvale 0.
Fixture R11 (One Day): Endeavour Hills v Williamstown, Taylors Lakes v Noble Park, Balwyn v Spotswood, Box Hill v Werribee, Mt Waverley v Melton, Altona v Bayswater, Hoppers Crossing v Croydon, Yarraville v Donvale.
