VALE of Lune crashed to a second defeat of the season against West Park St Helens at Powderhouse Lane on Saturday this time by a massive margin.

The Lancaster men narrowly lost out in a Powergen Cup battle against Saints in September but were brushed aside despite producing a number of promising attacks throughout the game.

Quite simply, Vale lacked the cutting edge to slice open a well organised West Park defence while the visitors possessed a number of quick, slick-passing players who posed a constant threat on the counter attack.

West Park made an ideal start, establishing a 10-point lead within six minutes through a converted try and a penalty goal.

And although Vale tightened up their game in response and used the rolling maul to good effect, the lead remained intact.

Andy Miller missed with a couple of penalty attempts, Gavin McHugh was hauled down just short of the line and Ian Bird, Donovan Sanders, Neil Bennetts and Aidan Doherty all made determined efforts to break through the defence.

Vale's forwards also threatened as they rolled as a unit from a series of line-outs close to the West Park line, but they were either turned over or lost possession in the scramble to ground the ball.

It was not until the opening moments of the second period that Miller slotted a penalty to put Vale on the score sheet but West Park quickly re-established the 10-point gap with a penalty of their own.

Another converted try quickly followed and, as Vale had to look to all-out attack in a bid to get something out of the game, they broke away again for a final try.

The result means Vale have now suffered three League North One defeats on the bounce and they face a tough fixture against undefeated Hull this weekend.

VALE: Miller, Bryan, Bennetts, Bird, Doherty, Sanders, Huntington (Smith 77), Jackson, Baines, Huck, Sheard, McHugh, Hoyle, Schueller, Fowler (Farnworth 53).