A penalty kick early in the first half proved the difference as Clifton lost a tight battle to Dings 13-12.
Both sides scored two tries in the first half with neither troubling the scorers in the second, despite Clifton creating a number of good opportunities.
Ben Jones made the score 5-3 when he scored untouched from a scrum close to Dings' line, selling a fine dummy on the way.
Dings then used their power game up front to hit back with two tries, both unconverted.
Shortly before half-time Tom Sims crashed over from close range after a good build-up to make it 13-12.
With a strong wind behind us in the second half we had every expectation of a victory - even if it meant resorting to a penalty kick or drop-goal!
But little errors and an unusual failure to finish chances, along with desperate defence from Dings, meant we came up short.
Hamish