Two minutes later the services of physiotherapist Greg Brown were once again required when Craig Holmes had to leave the field with a back injury. Vinnie Johnson managed to keep involved with play despite breaking his nose in the opening stages.

Rob Copley was the Trojans man of the match.

The injury situation clearly unsettled the Trojans as the West Hull team ran in a procession of tries. After only two minutes of play Thornhill put themselves under pressure by conceding a penalty. From the penalty West Hull opted to run the ball and Tom Cook shrugged off his tacklers to go over for a try which Mark Hewitt converted.

This try was quickly followed by another for the home team when the Thornhill defence was caught asleep. An overlap was created and Tom Cook ran around the outside of the defence. There was a distinct lack of Thornhill defenders and Cook touched down for his second try of the game. Mark Hewitt converted.

Thornhill briefly regained their composure during the opening exchanges to score a try of their own. The introduction of substitutes Danny Lee and Shane Davies certainly helped Thornhill’s forward drive.

Thornhill’s first real scoring chance fell to Chris Walker when he made a break down the wing. Walker appeared to be heading for a try, but as the defence moved in on him, instead of cutting infield, Walker opted to kick forward. The kick found touch and the move broke down.

Thornhill recovered from the disappointment when Ben Kendall made an impressive break to take Thornhill towards the West Hull try line. A further drive from Danny Lee put West Hull’s defence to the test and then Ben Hardacre forced his way over for an unconverted try.

But then Thornhill spectacularly shot themselves in the foot when a down field kick from West Hull was not cleared correctly. The ball was knocked on and from the scrum down Thornhill found themselves once again on the back foot. Peter Grayburn ran between two stranded Thornhill defenders to go over for a try. Mark Hewitt converted.

This try was quickly followed by a long range score from West Hull when they broke away from the half way line. A missed tackle just inside Thornhill’s half of the field, left the try line at the mercy of West Hull. The opportunity was too good to miss and winger Liam Bowler raced away and over for a try for Mark Hewitt to convert.

Now trailing 24-4 defeat looked inevitable for the Trojans. But rather than folding, the visitors showed fantastic fighting spirit to claw their way back into this game.

Stand out players for Thornhill in this revival were youngsters Ben Kendall and Keiran Talbot. Both showed enthusiasm in spades as they ran the ball forward into West Hull territory. Where Kendall shone on attack with some dangerous breaks, Talbot also caught the eye with a terrific effort on defence. The enthusiasm of Kendall and Talbot were complemented by the flair of Danny Ratcliffe who scored a brace of tries for Thornhill.

Trojans Ben Kendall had a major impact on the game.

Danny Ratcliffe had read the kick perfectly and ran onto the bouncing ball to go over for a try. Ratcliffe converted.

A good run from Jason Firth tore the West Hull defence apart. Firth set out a pass to the wing to put Chris Walker away on a run. Walker took the pass and ran round the outside of the defence to dash over for a try. Danny Ratcliffe converted and Thornhill had come back from the dead to now only trail by two points.

But it was all for nothing as a late collapse by the Trojans allowed West Hull to put the result beyond doubt. Thornhill were penalised for a high tackle in front of the posts and Hewitt kicked the penalty goal.

But then much to the frustration of coach Scott Dyson a high kick towards the posts was left to bounce. Full back Rob Copley was left clutching at thin air as Dean Thompson ran onto the ball to go over for a try. Mark Hewitt converted.

As the last act West Hull made a break up field. There was some fine support play from the home team as the move was kept alive with some quick interchanges. A kick to the corner found Thornhill short of defenders and Lee Morton went over for an unconverted try in the corner.

This was a disappointing defeat for the Trojans. This was a game they could and should have won, but ultimately some defensive lapses proved to be the Trojans downfall.

Match report compiled by Andrew Byram.