YORK City Knights player-coach Chris Thorman did not rule out the possibility of his side going all the way to the Northern Rail Cup final after last night’s draw pitted them away to Keighley in the last eight.

The Knights were second out of the hat in the draw made on Sky Sports’ Boots ‘n’ All show, following the Cougars, who beat them 32-18 in last year’s Championship One play-offs en route to promotion.

The league games between the sides last season were much closer, with Keighley winning 13-12 at Cougar Park and the Knights 24-22 at Huntington Stadium. Keighley have since been hit by an eight-point deduction for going into administration, and have lost all three league games this term.

Thorman, interviewed by Sky straight after the draw, said: “We worked really hard to get to this stage. Nobody expects us to make the final but who knows.”

Thorman did not expect the Cougars’ financial tribulations to make a difference or affect the way York prepare for the tie.

“A big thing for us this year has been concentrating on ourselves and what the Knights do well,” he said. “That’s served us well so far – we’re not going too badly in the league and we’ve had a couple of decent wins in the cup.

“We’ll see what happens. Keighley are a decent team and it’s always tough to go there.

“However, we’ve got a few important games to play before then.”

The quarter-final draw also pits together last year’s two finalists, Widnes and Barrow. Hunslet, the only other Championship One side still involved, host Leigh, whom York shocked on the opening day, while Batley host Sheffield. Ties to be played on the weekend of June 5-6.