A depleted 16 man Redditch Arrows squad fought valiantly but fell to their fourth successive defeat losing 44-6 to East Kilbride Pirates on Sunday.

Arrows' winless season was extended in an almost identical game to the teams' first encounter three weeks earlier, the Pirates ran up scores easily in the first half to take a commanding 38-0 lead at the half.

Arrows were forced to play several players out of position and could not handle the Pirates' powerful rushing game which forced them to commit too many to the line of scrimmage, leaving the secondary open to passes.

The Ash Lane side responded well in the second half putting together several good drives culminating in Anthony Perkins' three yard rush.

The Pirates scored again in the fourth to finish the scoring with a 44-6 win.

Arrows have endured a tough start with three fixtures against two of the best teams in the country and a game against Chester who are turning out to be the dark horses of the season.

This schedule coupled with the team's small squad and key injuries has seen the Redditch side struggle.

Chris Halford's team now have a week off to recover and re-group for the next round of fixtures.

Arrows entertain Chester Romans a week on Sunday.