WELL, that’s one way to bring a much-needed dollop of positivity to proceedings.

York City Knights’ players have had to endure an awful pre-season of disruption and distraction, while fans have had to put up with argument, counter-argument, fallings-out and frustration, all caused by the community stadium wrangling.

Indeed, the club started their season homeless and still with no training base, and with a recent takeover bid giving a new twist to the stadium saga.

But despite the big kick-off being shrouded in negativity and trepidation, head coach James Ford and his team of talented troopers countered it all spectacularly by hammering hosts London Skolars 78-10 to storm through the opening round of the new iPro Sport Cup.

Four of the six debutants shared seven touchdowns between them in a 14-try romp in which several of the old guard – not least Ed Smith, who already seems to have kicked on again from his best season to date – also stood out.

Did someone say crisis?

Well, actually, on that note, yes, the club’s predicament has actually deepened, as the reward for victory was something they didn’t want - a home draw in round two in a fortnight’s time.

Where that tie against ambitious, moneyed Newcastle Thunder will be played is anybody’s guess and it has accelerated the need for a resolution.

But, on this showing, whichever venue hosts it will have entertainment aplenty on their stage from Ford’s new-look Knights.

Newcastle will be much harder opposition, of course, although the Skolars themselves were looking a tough nut to crack in the first half-hour.

They took the lead on 11 minutes against the run of play.

Liam Foran – a former junior New Zealand international scrum-half - kicked to the right, where the ball was hacked in goal by James Carty and fell for Kazeem Fatouri-Edwards to touch down.

Foran was one of two dual-reg London Broncos players in the Skolars line-up, the other being Scotland international back-rower Harvey Burnett, who very nearly doubled the lead, denied by a superb tackle from Nev Morrison.

The scores should then have been levelled but Morrison served up an early shoo-in for miss of the season.

The winger crossed the whitewash and ran round towards the posts to make the conversion easier – only to drop the ball with nobody near him.

Still, he spared his blushes with a hat-trick on debut, while Ed Smith quickly got the team level, too.

Jonny Presley created the try, second-row Smith just having the legs to escape a despairing ankle-tap from Michael Benson.

Then came the game’s turning point, and a rarity in rugby league - an eight-point try, believed to be the first in the Knights’ 13-year existence.

And it was Morrison who made amends for his earlier gaffe.

Excellence in centre-field by Harry Carter created the opening, and when the ball was spun left, Morrison zipped around Aaron Small and touched down – despite a trip by the full-back in the act of scoring.

After a lengthy discussion with the touch judge - with York fans fearing the try would be disallowed for a foot in touch - referee Warren Turley awarded the touchdown and sin-binned Small.

Haynes converted from out wide then added the penalty from in front of the sticks. He ended with 11 goals in all.

With the extra man, York repelled a spell of Skolars pressure and broke out in style – Pete Aspinall finding space on the right flank and speeding home from 70 metres.

Then, awarded a penalty just before half-time, they got on with things quickly and it paid off as Cunningham spun his man and stretched to the line.

It meant three of the new boys – Morrison, Aspinall and Cunningham – were already off the mark.

The latter also set up the next two tries after half-time.

He drove to the line, with Kriss Brining sharply scoring from dummy-half, then he burst through from half-way and gave Pat Smith the chance to scamper in.

Greg Minikin was next on the scoresheet, Brining’s clever work in close proximity giving him the chance tight to the touchline.

More enterprising rugby gave Aspinall a half-chance to get his second try, which he took in fine fashion.

Morrison likewise got his second in super style – picking up a loose ball ten metres from his own line and out-sprinting all and sundry to the other end.

The procession ended as Jack Aldous had the ball stolen one-on-one and Fatouri-Edwards scored his second for Skolars, Sam Druce goaling.

But York finished with five more tries in the last 14 fun-filled minutes.

Harry Carter slalomed over, Mark Applegarth slipped a pass to fellow new boy Jake Joynt to also score on his debut, and Cunningham’s cut-out pass saw Morrison skip inside and sprint home again.

Then, in a carbon copy of an earlier effort, Cunningham again sent Pat Smith home, and Haynes finished it all off when getting on the end of a kick.

Ford had taken to Facebook on the eve of the game to reassure fans that his players were not being let down by the club amid rumours, on top of the stadium situation, that they were not being provided with a pre-match meal.

He explained it was his and the players’ own choice, saying individual diets were decided by a qualified nutritionist.

The question now, of course, is what on earth has he been feeding them?

 

Match facts

London Skolars: Small, Kolasa, Benson, Fatouri-Edwards, Carty, Connick, Foran, Robinson, Druce, Williams, Burnett, Cox, Fairhurst. Subs (all used): Sykes, Ellison, Anthony, Sutherland.

Tries: Fatouri-Edwards 11, 66.

Conversions: Druce 66.

Penalties: none.

Sent off: none.

Sin-binned: Small 31.

York City Knights: Haynes 8, Morrison 8, Minikin 8, Aspinall 9, Craig 8, Presley 8, P Smith 8, Nicholson 7, Carter 8, Aldous 7, E Smith 9, Tonks 7, Applegarth 9. Subs (all used): Brining 9, Roche 8, Cunningham 9, Joynt 7.

Tries: E Smith 24; Morrison 31, 60, 74; Aspinall 38, 58; Cunningham 40; Brining 43; P Smith 46, 77; Minikin 51; Carter 66; Joynt 72; Haynes 80.

Conversions: Haynes 24, 31, 38, 40, 43, 46, 66, 72, 74, 80.

Penalties: Haynes 31.

Sent off: none.

Sin-binned: none.

Man of the match: Liam Cunningham – the debutant made a huge impression off the bench, scoring one try, setting up four, and breaking through at will down the inside left.

Referee: Warren Turley (Leigh) – good.

Penalty count: 3-7.

Half-time: 4-26.

Weather: breezy and nippy but pleasant, before a thunder storm just after the final hooter.

Attendance: 156

Moment of the match: some of the tries were superb, among them Nev Morrison’s hat-trick on his debut, making amends for his earlier gaffe-of-the-season contender.

Gaffe of the match: Nev Morrison may as well be handed the miss-of-the-season gong right now. The winger was sent over the whitewash down the left and, as he ran round towards the sticks unchallenged, he inexplicably lost grip of the ball. York had been trailing 4-0 and at the time the blunder looked costly. It wasn’t.

Gamebreaker: Nev Morrison’s first try, which became a rare eight-point try, as an attempted trip by Aaron Small while the winger was in the act of scoring saw the full-back sin-binned and James Haynes add both the conversion and a penalty. York scored two more tries while Small was off the field and the Skolars, hitherto well in the game, never looked like recovering.

Match rating: enterprising and very watchable stuff from James Ford’s men. On this display, fans can look forward to entertainment aplenty at home – no matter where that home may be.