HEAD coach James Ford lauded hat-trick hero Ed Smith and debutant Ross Divorty after the pair helped York City Knights bounce back up to fourth in League One just four days after Saturday’s heartache – but there was only scathing criticism for hapless referee Tom Crashley.

The Knights, who lost the iPro Sport Cup in Blackpool to Keighley after a dramatic finale, beat Coventry 32-14 in their rearranged midweek match – Smith scoring his first-ever hat-trick in his 110th appearance.

Kriss Brining was also back on form with a brace while former Halifax second-row Divorty had a hand in a couple of tries in an encouraging performance back at his home-town club, lining up inside Smith who has recently switched to centre.

Said Ford of home-grown product Smith: “Whether I play him at centre or back-row he delivers.

“He’s one of the best back-rowers in the competition and I did have to think about moving him from there but I felt I had to due to injuries and he looks class out there too.

“He’s quicker than people realise, he’s got great understanding and he toughens up our defence out there.”

He added: “I think that (combination with Divorty) will flourish and grow into something good.

“Kriss Brining has not been at his best but he was also excellent – he came on and turned the game for us. It was a real Kriss Brining performance.”

Divorty, a primary school teacher in York, who also helps out with the Knights’ community work, was swamped by youngsters seeking autographs.

He had gone down late on but Ford joked: “Ross just had a bit of cramp – I think he just wanted to get the young supporters a bit worried. He’s had one game and is a crowd favourite already.

“He’s got good skills, he shapes well, runs good lines. He’s got a bit of distance to travel defensively but he’s great for the club, not only on the field but for what he does off the field.”

Of the result, Ford, unhappy with the timing of the match, said: “The game got scheduled when it got scheduled. We had to play reasonably well and I’m happy we got the points.

“We weren’t as crisp as we normally would’ve been and we had a few decisions go against us. Coventry also played well – they had territory gifted to them but they asked us questions.

“But we counted 12 poor calls against us in the first half to create pressure and we conceded ten points. That’s a manful effort for a team who played on Saturday and had the emotional impact from losing a final late on. Not many teams have that togetherness and mental strength.”

Asked specifically about Crashley’s performance, the referee having been angrily jeered off by fans, Ford said: “In the last two games, at Blackpool and here, we’ve had the worst two referees in the competition.

“I can take it when a referee gets the odd decision wrong. We speak to the assessors and they try to educate you on how referees see things. I get that.

“But that was an absolutely disgraceful performance.

“It didn’t affect the outcome. But how momentum was taken away from us and pressure created on us, I’m not having it that that’s the best performance he can serve up.

“I don’t think he’s got anything against the club or anything like that. He’s just put in a really poor performance.

“We (Ford and assistant Will Leatt) were behind the posts with a clear view of a lot of decisions and they were just point-blank wrong.

“Normally we’d tell the players to take the referee out of the equation.

“But the stuff he was giving – it was horrendous.

“We’ve had some astonishing performances from officials before and I think the supporters of York are generally quite tolerant. But for them to react like that at the end, when we’ve won the game, says it all.”

Asked if Crashley would be welcome back at Bootham Crescent, Ford quipped: “I’m sure we’ll get him on Sunday – that’s how it normally works.

“As loyal as I am to my players, if one of them played as badly as that, he would not be playing the next weekend. In fact, he would have to train at a damn good level for a long time to get anywhere near the team again.”