Henley Hawks could not bring their second-half pressure to bear in a 17-16 home defeat to Barking in National 3 South.

Hawks led 16-14 at the break and dominated the territory after that, but were undone by a penalty from fly half Luke Greatrex.

Henley lost regular kicker Danny Wells overnight after he was reported to have burnt his forearm in a fire.

Left wing Chris Jones put Barking ahead early on with the first of two tries – although he was later air-lifted to hospital with a head injury.

Greatrex converted, but Henley fly half Will Fulton hit back with a penalty.

Crucially, Fulton kicked just one more goal from five attempts.

Henley felt Jones’s first try came after two forward passes and a knock-on and that his second, again converted by Gretrex, stemmed from a crooked lineout throw.

But Italian referee Andrea Pasquin, who did not have radio contact with his assistants, allowed both.

Lock Shaun English scored Henley’s first try following a five-metre line-out, while skipper Matt Payne notched from a tapped penalty. Fulton’s penalty gave Hawks a half-time lead.

In the second half, Tommy Haynes was recalled for a forward pass when Hawks looked set to score, but too often their runners lacked support.

Hooker Simon Tattersall was sin-binned when Greatrex landed his penalty, while Fulton hit the post below the bar with a late drop-goal attempt.