League One Cup first round
York City Knights 16 North Wales Crusaders 17 (after extra time)
Knights: Ash Robson 8, Tommy Brierley 7, James Haynes 6, Nev Morrison 7, Dee Foggin-Johnston 7, Harry Tyson-Wilson 7, Danny Sowerby 6, Bobby Tyson-Wilson 7, Will Jubb 7, Chris Siddons 7, Ed Smith 8, Brad Hey 7, Tim Spears 8. Subs (all used): Pat Smith 7, Ronan Dixon 6, Kieran Moran 6, Adam Robinson 6.
Tries: Morrison 32; P Smith 40; Robson 47.
Conversions: H Tyson-Wilson 32, 40.
Penalties: none.
Sent off: none.
Sin-binned: Siddons 14.
Crusaders: Johnson, Price, Mulkeen, Hurst, Bloomfield, Handsome, R Smith, Baker, Hudson, Davidson, Houghton, Dandy, Millington. Subs (all used): Moore, Cookson, Warburton, Joy.
Tries: Bloomfield 28; Johnson 58; Price 80.
Conversions: Johnson 58, 80.
Drop-goal: Handsome 83.
Penalties: none.
Sent off: none.
Sin-binned: none.
Man of the match: Ed Smith – the new captain and reigning Press Player of the Year continued his fine form of 2016.
Referee: Nick Bennett (South Yorkshire) – a raft of early penalties to North Wales, plus a yellow card to the unlucky Chris Siddons, angered the home support, and the rookie ref will need to watch his offsides a bit more. A few odd decisions were thrown in, while York boss James Ford bemoaned the speed of the rucks. A learning curve.
Penalty count: 9-9
Half-time: 12-4
Weather: mild and still.
Attendance: 620
Moment of the match: York’s first-half defence stood up in the face of a barrage of penalties, a yellow card and pressure, and it was epitomised by Ed Smith racing up from a dropout to floor big Crusaders sub prop John Cookson with a huge hit. Talk about taking on the challenge.
Gaffe of the match: York should firstly have seen the game out and, after conceding a last-second equaliser, should still have won it in extra time after an excellent opening set. But disorganisation on the last tackle led to a hurried drop-goal attempt by Ash Robson which did not threaten the sticks.
Gamebreaker: York should have had the game in the bag but North Wales’ last-second equaliser took the tie to extra time and Jack Handsome’s drop goal won it.
Match rating: it was a fast-paced competitive clash and in that regard fine fare to watch, but the quality wasn't consistent and the finale was a big downer for the York faithful. The team's effort nevertheless deserved the support.
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