Betfred League One

York City Knights 40 Workington Town 8

Knights: Dagger 9, Oakes 8, Batchelor 8, Hey 6, Robson 8, Cockayne 9, C Robinson 8, Hawksworth 7, Ellis 8, A Robinson 8, Kelly 8, Scott 9, Spears 8. Subs (all used): Jubb 7, Horne 8, Roche 9, Porter 8.

Tries: Scott 13; Oakes 19; Kelly 31; Batchelor 45, 71; Cockayne 63; Horne 68.

Conversions: C Robinson 13, 19, 31, 45, 68, 71 (6/7).

Penalties: none.

Sent off: none.

Sin-binned: none.

Workington: Forrester, Hambley, Miller, Singleton, Patrick, Doran, Forber, Wilkes, Penkywicz, Scholey, Moore, Olstrom, Blagbrough. Subs (all used): Maudling, Curwen, Dawson, Moimoi.

Tries: Dawson 38.

Conversions: Forber 38 (1/1).

Penalty: Forber 4 (1/1).

Sent off: none.

Sin-binned: none.

Man of the match: Ben Cockayne - the veteran winger/full-back was back at stand-off and proved very influential, creating a couple of tries, scoring a cracker, constantly communicating and being heavily involved.

Referee: Liam Staveley (Bradford) – the game saw a number of inexperienced decisions, with Town’s old schemer Sean Penkywicz often trying to guide him, but the young ref came through the other end okay.

Penalty count: 10-8

Half-time: 18-8

Weather: hot.

Attendance: 1,399

Moment of the match: The picks of the tries were probably the one Ben Cockayne scored and the one he made for Mike Kelly, his running game coming to the fore both times, as was his knowhow of when to pass and when to go himself.

Gaffe of the match: There were no costly cock-ups in a super York win but five times Brad Hey lost possession in the attacking third.

Gamebreaker: At 18-8 at half-time, the first score of the second half looked like being important (especially after the Knights' defeat at Whitehaven from being 18-8 up), and Joe Batchelor got it five minutes after the resumption. How the teams reacted to that score would also be key, and the Knights remained on top until finally crossing again, Ben Cockayne’s solo try effectively putting the game to bed at 28-8 with 17 minutes to go and Town too tired to fashion a riposte.

Match rating: after the disappointment at Whitehaven, this was the Knights back on form and, for much of the game, being too good and too determined for a dangerous Workington team - the final scoreline reflecting York's efforts much more than Town's deficiencies.