BEATEN but undeterred, Lee Radford hailed the effort of his Hull FC players following a loss that's an undoubted blow to their play-off aspirations.
If the 24-18 home defeat seemed a cruel blow to Callum Lancaster on a night he marked his home debut with a second successive hat-trick, spare a thought for the rest of his team-mates. They battled valiantly in poor conditions but again found the common theme of a lack of direction and guile the difference between victory and defeat.
Hull marked their return to the KC with a performance that offered hope they can address what is now a three-match run without a win. Hope will only go so far, though, and with games running out Radford knows victories need to start coming fast.
On this evidence, that should surely be the case sooner rather than later.
Losing Richard Horne early in the game never helped and it was that missing craft which, at times, proved the difference as Warrington executed their chances, albeit helped by a final try which came from both a blatant offside position and a forward pass.
Defeat leaves Hull still four points behind in the race for the play-offs, with the urgency of a victory at Salford next week now even higher.
Radford tweaked his side for their return home with Lancaster replacing Tom Lineham and Josh Bowden coming into the side, with Richard Whiting dropping out. It meant a second appearance for Jordan Abdull in the halves, with the 17-year-old one of three players making his KC debut, alongside Lancaster and Setaimata Sa.
Having shone alongside Horne in the halves at Wakefield, Abdull found himself with a new half-back partner in Aaron Heremaia just five minutes into the game after Horne left the field dazed following a collision in the tackle.
It wasn't the start the hosts needed having already found themselves under relentless pressure early on from a bright and creative Wolves attack.
Tony Smith's men ignored the wet conditions to move the ball around with pace and purpose, switching sides continually with each tackle to keep the Hull defence on their toes.
Hull were not as slick, with passes falling to ground, but in the embryonic stages of the game that wouldn't have concerned Radford too much after watching his men edge two points ahead, thanks to Abdull's penalty following an infringement in the tackle.
Continuing where he left off last week, Abdull was having an influence on the game and when Bowden's hit forced Ben Westwood into spilling the ball, the teenager sent a crafty and perfectly-weighted kick over the Wolves' defence. Lancaster raced onto the ball to continue his impressive try-scoring run.
The praise has been lavished on Lancaster from all quarters, but with the ups come the downs and while he'll celebrate a first KC try, the young winger will know his three attempts to unsuccessfully bring down Matty Russell played a significant part in Warrington levelling the scores.
Lancaster wasn't the only culprit as Hull, so good in defence until the half hour mark, missed attempted tackle after tackle as ex-Hull player Russell was able to go 50 metres, before a simple pass sent Stefan Ratchford through a sizeable gap.
Chris Bridge added the extras and, after looking like they would extend their advantage, Hull were facing the possibility of going in at the break with the scores tied.
A Joe Westerman penalty briefly threatened to offer a hint that wouldn't be the case as Hull edged ahead again, but in the dying seconds further poor defending allowed Ryan Atkins the type of space the international centre relishes as he strolled over for a converted try.
When Bridge opened the second half with a needless penalty after a swinging arm by Fetuli Talanoa, a four-point deficit became six and Hull's good work was threatening to be undone.
Likewise, when Gareth Ellis spun out of a tackle over the Wolves try-line, but also saw the ball spin out of his hands in his attempt to ground it, the hosts were left to wonder if their chance to hit back immediately had passed by.
Thankfully for Radford, Lancaster had other ideas. Taking Danny Houghton's cut-out pass 10 metres out, the winger still had plenty to do but showed a blistering turn of pace to reach the corner before Joel Monaghan could cover as he dived over spectacularly for his seventh try of the season.
Hull had worked to wrestle back the momentum, but again it slipped from their grasp too easily as Warrington returned from a first foray to the Hull line for some time with six points, thanks to Ben Harrison's score.
If Harrison's score upset the home faithful, Gene Ormsby's match winner had them screaming from their seats as a number of indiscretions were waved away by Ben Thaler as the Wolves celebrated.
When Lancaster crossed for his hat-trick try with two minutes remaining, a grandstand finish was a possibility. But it never materialised as Hull succumbed to another home loss.
