YORK City Knights helped to set a world record on their previous trip to Whitehaven and they were eyeing a club record on this visit too.

But this match, like the last one, ended only in pain and disappointment as the club’s Cumbrian hoodoo continued as they went down 26-18.

This wasn’t quite the to-and-fro epic of last September when, after a rugby league record 26 minutes of extra time in the rain and mud, Haven kicked a drop goal to win the League One play-off semi-final.

But it was another hard-fought battle, this time in the sun, and this time with Haven owning the entire second half to turn an 18-6 deficit into a 26-18 win - York’s brave backs-to-the-wall effort if face of constant bombardment ultimately not enough as the penalty and set count grew and grew in the hosts’ favour.

A harsh sin-binning of Joe Batchelor at a key time hardly helped.

It all put paid to York’s hopes of equalling a club record of 10 successive wins, and instead maintained their jinx on this ground – now five games without a win – and their hoodoo in Cumbria as a whole, still with no league win here since 2009.

They slipped to second in League One, back behind Bradford.

The Knights had travelled in “adversity”, according to boss James Ford, having only one recognised half-back for the trip, and the early loss to injury of centre Jake Butler-Fleming made matters worse, two-fold.

Already using prop Graeme Horne at stand-off – an experiment which didn’t really work barring a two-try salvo late in the first half - they also had to use interchange hooker Will Jubb out of position at centre, with no threequarters on the bench.

The knock-on effect meant starting hooker Andy Ellis had to do 80 minutes in increasing heat.

Ford had made five changes in all to the side that walloped minnows Hemel last week to go top of the table, some enforced.

Dual-reg Hull KR duo Will Dagger and Matty Marsh were unavailable – forcing Horne’s new role - while on-loan hooker Dan Maskill and prop Ronan Dixon were injured and Dan Hawksworth named as 18th man.

With winger Judah Mazive failing a late fitness test and Ben Cockayne utilised at full-back, Brad Hey switched to right-wing and Joe Batchelor again used at centre.

Butler-Fleming was back in the other centre but his return from injury lasted barely five minutes.

Hookers Ellis and Jubb also returned to the line-up and Jordan Walne came into the pack on dual-reg, while prop Colton Roche made his second debut this season on loan from Huddersfield.

The heavy penalty count in the hosts favour began early but it was York who took the lead after a home error conceded a scrum 15 metres out.

Connor Robinson dummied in wide on the left, and his conversion in-off the near post took his season’s tally to a whopping 198 points.

He ended the day on 202 after two more goals.

However, after JBF’s exit, Haven equalised down his flank through a piece of brilliance.

Dion Aiye, having already served notice of his running threat at half-back, this time kicked firmly left where Papua New Guinea compatriot Jessie Joe Parker took a great one-handed catch on the run. Dan Abram converted.

The try sparked Haven, who began to win the forward battle, led by Marc Shackley.

Full-back Abram then broke through and, while desperate defence got to him, another handling error by the visitors gave the hosts the ball back in the red zone.

They were then given a penalty and, perhaps surprisingly given their dominance, they took the two points.

That decision backfired as, against the run of play, York retook the lead.

Batchelor’s off-the-cuff kick on a first foray for some time forced a dropout, then Ellis was held up over the try-line.

Then Horne ran laterally as if he was about to throw the ball wide, only to dab a little kick in goal and touch it down himself.

Within two minutes it was 18-8, too, after a stunning 60-metre charge downfield by Walne, deceiving and swatting off defenders in equal measure.

The platform set, Horne took a pass from Ben Cockayne and fired it inside for Ash Robson to score.

If York ended the first half superbly, they started the second terribly - and never recovered.

Robinson’s kick-off flew straight out, Haven pressed from the penalty into visiting territory and Ellis Gillam got over.

Three consecutive penalties followed and, while superb scrambling defence held out, a high tackle by Cockayne on Forster on the last tackle sustained the pressure.

Somehow the Knights resisted again – shades of their defensive efforts against Doncaster earlier in the season.

They survived another raid when Josh Eaves, Haven’s on-loan sub hooker, kicked goalwards, and Jubb won the race to knock the ball dead.

A sixth straight penalty in the second half added to the pressure and had York on a team warning too.

But just when it seemed the onslaught had abated, Haven equalised and York were down to 12 men.

Home winger Dave Thompson dropped a kick on his own line but referee Tom Crashley controversially deemed it went backwards, and Aiye and Parker made great ground.

Then, seeing nobody home, the speedy Abram kicked over the top and won the race to the touchdown, adding the conversion.

The Knights were on the ropes, with 16 minutes still to negotiate. It was made worse when Crashley sin-binned Batchelor for supposedly impeding Abram in the race to the ball.

The 12 men survived the next Aiye raid as Callum Phillips’ try was ruled out for a forward pass.

But not the next as Thompson had the strength to get the ball down, Abram goaling.

Having spent the last half hour trying to hold on, the Knights now needed to come from behind, but they had never looked like scoring.

Instead after sloppy play by Horne and a forced pass by Robson a shoulder charge by Roche was punished by an Abram penalty to seal victory.

Abram hit a post with another penalty, but it mattered little to the delighted home support.