BOSS James Ford reckoned he aged 10 years after watching his York City Knights side hold on to win 22-18 at Newcastle Thunder.

The Knights trailed 12-0 early on before building a 22-12 lead in this annual curtain-raiser to Super League's Magic Weekend on Tyneside. Newcastle struck back in the last 10 minutes and nerves began to shred late on as the hooter took what seemed an age to sound – more than 13 minutes of stoppage time being played but without a clock in the stadium letting fans know how long was left.

But Ford’s men saw the game out to rise to fourth in League One, albeit temporarily before the rest of the weekend action.

“I much prefer 64-12 wins,” said Ford, referring to last Sunday’s big victory over Coventry. "I feel 44, let alone 34."

Asked about the wait for the final hooter, he said: “We were aware of how long was left – we keep in touch with the timekeepers – and we kept sending messages out to the players about what they needed to do.

“Managing a game out isn’t as easy as it looks. Newcastle threw some stuff at us late on and we showed mental strength and character to come away with the points.”

Ford described the game as “scrappy” with the artificial surface making the greasy conditions more difficult.

He added: “I said to the players they’re not going to execute their offensive stuff like they did against Coventry every week.

“Sometimes you will have to score scruffy tries and fight your way home. Teams that win championships can do both.”

On rising to fourth, he added: “League tables are irrelevant at this time of the year, but we are improving. We knew we had a difficult job at the start of the year (after the off-field crisis at the end of last season) but the players have a fantastic attitude towards learning and the togetherness is great. They work hard for each other and are becoming a good team.”

The game had a number of flashpoints. There were four yellow cards - three for Newcastle, one for York - while a tackle which saw Nick Rawsthorne helped from the field late on was put on report.

On the latter, Ford said: "I thought it was a really poor tackle. He (Rawsthorne) has been chopped from behind. That kind of thing can seriously injure a player and I expect the Newcastle player to face a ban.

"I love tough rugby league but players have to have respect for each other's bodies."

Another controversial moment saw York-born ex-England star - and former Knights top try-scorer - Peter Fox deny opposite winger Callum Lancaster an almost certain try when taking him out off the ball around the neck as he was about to score from a kick to the corner. Fox was sin-binned but no penalty try was forthcoming.

Ford said: "He (Lancaster) would've scored it but it might have been harsh on Newcastle to give a penalty try. The sin-bin was about right. It was a daft thing to do by Peter. It was a professional foul - in that sense maybe it should have been a penalty try - but what it (the yellow card) did do was put his team under pressure."