Keighley 18 York City Knights 25

Keighley: Aaronson, D Dixon, Barnes, Ryder, Gabriel, Brook, Beharrell, Cherryholme, Feather, Bailey, Rawlins, Tonks, Emmett. Subs (all used): Lynam, Conroy, Whittel, Nicholson.

Tries: Nicholson 44; D Dixon 47, 71; Gabriel 79.

Conversions: Beharrell 44.

Penalties: none.

Sent off: Tonks 36.

Sin-binned: none.

Knights: Robson 7, Saxton 6, Egodo 6, Haynes 6, Foggin-Johnston 6, C Robinson 7, H Tyson-Wilson 5, A Robinson 7, Jubb 7, Siddons 7, Ed Smith 8, Batchelor 8, Spears 8. Subs (all used): P Smith 6, Moran 7, R Dixon 8, Hey 7.

Tries: E Smith 3; Batchelor 15; Siddons 25.

Conversions: C Robinson 3, 15, 25.

Penalties: C Robinson 32, 38, 53.

Drop-goal: C Robinson 74.

Sent off: none.

Sin-binned: Moran 42.

Man of the match: Tim Spears – the loose-forward was only named in the line-up five minutes before kick off after passing a late fitness test, and how he was needed, his experience, grit and leadership so important around young team-mates, especially in the second half when Keighley’s 12 men came back strongly.

Referee: Tom Crashley (Wakefield) – Knights boss James Ford was right to suggest the ref would need to be strong, especially in a first half when the Cougars lost too much discipline. Home fans weren’t happy with the penalty count but they couldn’t complain really.

Penalty count: 5-13

Half-time: 0-22

Weather: murky before some late sunshine.

Attendance: 527

Moment of the match: Chris Siddons’ try was straight off the training ground – Connor Robinson finding the onrushing Ed Smith with a neat kick, with Smith offloading for Chris Siddons to cross the whitewash.

Gaffe of the match: Keighley, it’s fair to say, in the first half let their frustrations get the better of them and their discipline the worse of them, with ex-Knight Josh Tonks’ terribly late tackle on Connor Robinson the worst of the lot. York’s biggest gaffe was Connor Robinson fluffing a second-half sitter, holding on when he had a simple scoring pass to Ed Smith on his inside.

Gamebreaker: It should have been Josh Tonks’ 36th-minute red card with Keighley already 20-0 down. It should also have been a second-half try for Ed Smith which would have put York 30-10 up around the hour mark, only Connor Robinson inexplicably failed to send his skipper in. In the end, it was Robinson’s 74th-minute drop goal which kept the Cougars at arm’s length.

Match rating: The first half was a feisty old-fashioned game, in danger of boiling over as Keighley’s frustrations got the better of them. Several injuries meant York had to chop and change formation so they lacked fluidity after the break but they saw the game out, helped by being a man up after Josh Tonks’ red card.