PILKINGTON Recs learned a harsh lesson in finishing as they fell to a 22-8 home defeat to West Hull, their second of the season.

Despite a performance in which they had to soak up a lot of pressure from Recs, the visitors hit a purple patch before the break with three tries in ten minutes which the hosts never recovered from.

It started well enough for Recs, with their early dominance rewarded when Ryan Hilliard broke clear before releasing Kyran Knapper to open the scoring.

However, despite controlling the game, Recs’ fluidity deserted them and they allowed Hull back into the game with basic errors.

Firstly, the visiting scrum half darted through the line before crashing over in the corner despite the attentions of two Recs defenders before a good offload allowed them to cross for a second try.

A good overlap then put their winger over in the corner as West Hull threatened to run riot, with Recs having to hold on until half time following Greg Smith’s sin-binning.

The first score of the second half was always going to be crucial and, sadly for Recs, it was the visitors who got it when a string of penalties resulted in their prop forward barrelling over next to the posts for a six-pointer.

Recognising they needed to step up their game, the home side increased the intensity and were unlucky not to score on several occasions.

Jono Peers was held up over the line, while Ian Stanley dropped the ball with the whitewash at his mercy as West Hull looked to hang on.

Knapper did get over the line, but the touch judge had spotted a forward pass in the build-up and the score was chalked off.

As time ticked on, it became clear the game was up but Recs did have the last word when Knapper collected Danny Green’s chip for his second try.

Recs will now look to bounce back when they travel to Kells on Saturday.

Like Pilks, Kells have recorded one win from three outings in the National Conference League Premier Division this season though they have a draw to their name too.

The Cumbrian outfit became the first side to take any points off Wath Brow Hornets when they finished up 14-14 at the weekend.

THATTO Heath visit Underbank Rangers in National Conference League Division One on Saturday.

Last weekend’s home clash with East Leeds was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.