Because once again Halifax failed to do themselves justice, failed to kick on from the improved second half showing at Stourbridge and failed to give the watching faithful some kind of hope to cling on to with the long, dark winter months to come.

See the slide show from the game.

Of course they tried, no Halifax team ever goes out wanting to fail, but they came up short again on a day when a victory was pretty vital.

There were injuries to consider with Danny McGee, Will Greenwood and Phil Skillen absent and Craig Aikman shipped out to the wing thereby handing recent recruit Ronan Dillon the No 9 shirt.

In addition, second choice hooker Rob Townsend cried off with mumps on Thursday evening while James Endersby was pressed into action in the centre despite not being fully fit.

To make matters worse, new signing on loan from Rotherham, George Osaghee-Kay, failed to make the ground after contracting a flu bug while Ben Mitchell was drafted straight on to the bench for his first taste of first team action since breaking a cheekbone at Blaydon.

Redruth had sunk to the bottom of the table after having their appeal against a 10-point deduction for failing to fulfil a fixture at Cambridge thrown out.

That disappointment, coupled with an arduous journey from the south west, had seen Halifax confident that they could come out of the game with a positive result.

But after starting well, the same old frailties returned and as a result they were a well-beaten side.

Credit to Redruth, who overcame a difficult opening period thanks to some good honest graft, because when they pushed their noses in front their confidence lifted whereas Halifax seemed to lose theirs.

A positive start from the home side had Redruth back-pedalling and when the inevitable penalty arrived Joe Knowles needed no further invitation to bang over the first points.

Redruth had a chance to level almost immediately but stand off Gareth Griffiths summed up an indifferent display with the boot by hammering the kick underneath the crossbar.

A period of stalemate was almost broken when Redruth hooker Glenn Cooper knocked on at the Halifax 22 metre line with nobody in front of him.

But the visitors were not to be denied and when they won a lineout they turned up the wick noticeably, twice being held up by strong Halifax defence before prop Darren Jacques finally plunged over, Griffiths adding the conversion.

The Cornish side's confidence was visibly lifted and two tries in as many minutes were just reward for their hard work and tactical nous.

A long kick from deep in their own half saw PJ Gidlow win the race and as he was tagged right on the Halifax line the ball was swiftly recycled for flanker Nathan Pascoe to shoot over.

Then a similar move saw the ball hoofed deep into home territory and although Oli Marns managed to get across and put his boot to the ball it popped up nicely for scrum half David Pascoe to gather and charge over.

Trailing 17-3 at the break Halifax needed to come out firing on all cylinders.

And that is exactly what they did, raising hopes of another stirring final 40 minute display.

It wasn't the most fluid of moves with a number of passes only just finding hands.

But nevertheless, Marns got hold of it and scared the life out of Redruth with another fine run before sliding an inside pass to the supporting Gareth Lewis who jogged over, Knowles adding the conversion.

That should have been the signal for a massive Halifax effort, but it never materialised.

Instead of heaping on the pressure, Halifax's poor kicking game played straight into the hands of the opposition, particularly England Sevens man Rob Thirlby, and they were allowed to gather and run back at them resulting in Redruth carving open a gap in the defences for winger Lewis Vinnicombe to exploit and run in his side's fourth try to secure a welcome bonus point, Griffiths doing the rest with the boot.

Within five minutes the lead had been stretched to 31-10, another good Redruth break seeing the Halifax defence again worked to breaking point with lock Luke Collins crashing over, Griffiths adding the extra two.

Halifax introduced Mitchell and his pace immediately upset Redruth as he looked to make up for his spell on the sidelines.

Marns was also making his pace tell and another fine run was unintentionally disrupted by Lewis, who tried desperately to get out of the way. The move did not lose its momentum however and Richard White eventually piled over with Knowles adding the conversion.

Once again the score came too late to alter the outcome and it was Redruth who finished the stronger.

Griffiths added a penalty in front of the posts before Halifax pressure on the visitors line was turned over and Craig Bonds ran almost the length of the pitch before bringing Arthur Meredith into play.

With the Halifax defence stretched he supplied the pass for Vinnicombe to run in his second try, Griffiths adding the final conversion.

Star Player
Oli Marns again showed that teams do not like players running at them at pace.
The winger made his intentions known every time he got the ball in hand yet still Redruth were unable to lay hands on him.
The combination of pace and ability to step off either foot was like the Oli Marns of old and he, and some of his colleagues, should take heart in the fact that they can take on and beat opponents with a devastating turn of speed.
Marns was also quick out of the blocks when the tackles needed to go in and produced a solid defensive display.
Lock Matt Harrison works hard every game, often with little reward. Saturday was another case in point.
The Kiwi can command the lineout when it functions properly and is usually the first to get involved in the rucks and the breakdowns. He can also carry the ball strongly too and gets through his fair share of tough tackling.
Gareth Lewis is always at his best when the going gets tough and again he was one desperately trying to lead by example against Redruth.
He always gets stuck in no matter what the situation is and his eye for a break saw him provide the only option for Marns following an excellent break and he was able to jog in for a fine try.

Match Facts
Halifax: Knowles, Aikman, Gordon, Endersby, Marns, Eaton, Dillon, Blades, Kay, Jenkins, White, Harrison, Solomi, Lewis, Moon. Replacements: Mitchell (Gordon 53), Brown (Moon 62), Kilbane (Blades 53), Richardson.
Tries: Lewis, White
Con: Knowles (2)
Pens: Knowles
Drop Goals: None
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None

Redruth: R Thirlby, Vinnicombe, Meredith, PJ Gidlow, Bonds, Griffiths, D Pascoe, Jacques, Cooper, Joyce, Cook, Collins, N Pascoe, Fuca, Bright. Replacements: A Thirlby (P J Gidlow 62), Fox (Fuca 76), M Gidlow (Cooper 78), Marcom (Joyce 70).
Tries: Vinnicombe (2), Jacques, N Pascoe, D Pascoe, Collins
Cons: Griffiths (4)
Pens: Griffiths
Drop Goals: None
Yellow Cards: None
Red Cards: None

Referee: Richard Parker-Sedgmore (RFU)

Player Points
WORKOUT WAREHOUSE PLAYER OF THE SEASON: 11 Craig Aikman; 10 Joe Knowles; 6 George Jenkins; 5 Oli Marns, Gareth Lewis; 4 Tom Eaton, Matt Harrison; 3 Dave Hall, Danny McGee, James Endersby; 2 Richard White; 1 Richard Brown, Phil Skillen, Adam Blades, Iain Gordon.