WHAT a night to give their worst first-half performance of the season. What a night to give one of their best displays in the second.

What a night for referee Chris Leatherbarrow, hitherto pleasingly inconspicuous, to make a huge call - rightly or wrongly - and ruin it all at the death.

York City Knights knew victory would all but guarantee a place in the League One play-offs, and they knew they were facing a North Wales Crusaders side with Championship pedigree but with major injury problems, so much so they travelled with only 16 players.

However, on a balmy evening and with an expectant crowd, James Ford’s men proceeded to make error after mistake after gaffe in a first half from hell, dropping so many high kicks that the biggest cheer of the half came when they finally caught one.

It was as bewildering as it was costly, North Wales racking up five tries with York not even getting a glimpse of the opposite try-line.

The second stanza, incredibly, was the exact opposite, with a roaring comeback out of nowhere - a Kriss Brining try amazingly levelling the scores at 28-28 with six minutes to go. The crowd were buoyant, a sensational victory seemingly afoot.

But then, with the Knights receiving the ball from the restart and with noisy support backing them to get up the other end again, Micky Learmonth supposedly pulled someone's leg at a ruck, and Leatherbarrow awarded a penalty which Tommy Johnson booted to give the visitors a 30-28 win.

The first half had begun as it was to go on.

Mark Applegarth and Jonny Presley, two of the most experienced players in York’s team, conspired to let the kick-off bounce over the dead-ball line.

Crusaders kept the pressure on and from the fourth consecutive set inside the red zone, right-winger Andy Oakden put them ahead.

Another glaring error – Ben Dent fluffing a high kick – gave the visitors another attacking set and again Oakden scored by the flag, albeit with strong claims of a forward pass.

Both tries had come down the wing occupied by the below-par Liam Cunningham and the inexperienced Adam Dent – two changes to the side that had beaten a much-improved London Skolars on Sunday.

They had replaced Jamel Chisholm and Tyler Craig, while forwards Colton Roche and late culprit Learmonth were back as replacement forwards, in place of Jack Blagbrough and Brad Hey. Ford might now be ruing his selection.

Craig had taken a knock on Sunday, joining skipper James Haynes on the injury list – Haynes being at the game on crutches after receiving confirmation he has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament as feared.

York’s injury concerns were still considerably less than those of the Crusaders, who have lost six first-teamers for the season and travelled light – not allowed to make any emergency signings after transfer deadline.

They might be promotion contenders too, but it was hardly a bad time to play them.

They were also coming off bruising defeats to Rochdale and Swinton.

However, they started at a pace York have become unaccustomed to in recent weeks in their victories over expansion teams, and they were also given regular piggy-backs by unforced errors from a home team who were their own worst enemies.

The next was the worst and most bizarre of the lot – Nev Morrison making a hash of a grubber kick and, in trying to keep the ball in play, merely giving a simple touchdown to Rob Massam.

Then Adam Dent followed brother Ben in dropping a high kick and Ben Jullien scored from the scrum.

Soon enough, a kick ricocheted off a York boot and fell invitingly for Jullien to run home again, Johnson adding his fourth conversion for a 28-0 interval lead.

That was pretty much the end of York’s unbeaten record at their temporary Elmpark Way home, and the end of a six-match winning streak. But wait.

York's illness of the first half seemingly infected Oakden after the break as he dropped a Jordan Howden kick on his own line, Josh Tonks on hand to score.

The Knights also improved no end and, from a scrum, Presley sent Ryan Mallinder crashing over.

Then a Presley kick, a bobble, and Adam Dent won the race to touch down.

The crowd was lifted, hopes raised. Crusaders, tiring, also tried to kill the clock whenever possible.

Another Presley kick, another bobble and Ed Smith, having switched to centre in Cunningham's stead, got a firm hand to it.

They kept the pressure on, kept forcing scrums, Presley hunting and probing.

Kriss Brining had yet to have a go himself from dummy-half all night. When he did, the Knights’ top scorer stretched a long arm to the whitewash under the posts.

Ben Dent added his fourth goal and the scores were level. The crowd were going bonkers.

But wait, up stepped Leatherbarrow.

Johnson, back on the field after 20 minutes of treatment, kicked the penalty and the visitors - deserving of great praise themselves in the circumstances - held on.

 

MATCH STATS

Knights 28 North Wales 30

Knights: B Dent 6, A Dent 5, Cunningham 5, Minikin 6, Morrison 5, Presley 8, Howden 6, Applegarth 6, P Smith 6, Aldous 7, E Smith 8, Tonks 8, Mallinder 7. Subs (all used): Brining 7, Nicholson 6, Roche 7, Learmonth 5.

Tries: Tonks 50; Mallinder 57; A Dent 60; E Smith 69; Brining 74.

Conversions: B Dent 50, 57, 69, 74.

Crusaders: Johnson, Massam, Julien, Roets, Oakden, Dallimore, Moulsdale, Duffy, Hudson, Davies, Wild, Reid, Thompson. Subs (all used): Burke, Joy, Walker.

Tries: Oakden 5, 9; Massam 26; Jullien 29, 38.

Conversions: Johnson 5, 26, 29, 38.

Penalties: Johnson 76.

Man of the match: Josh Tonks – ran and tackled hard and was error-free, being one of the players to be spared blame for the nightmare first half and being the one to set the comeback going with the first try in the second. Jonny Presley also had a cracking second half, at the hub of the attacks.

Referee: Chris Leatherbarrow (St Helens) – wonderfully inconspicuous, until making that big late call, rightly or wrongly, to give Crusaders a match-winning penalty for something pretty innocuous.

Penalty count: 2-2

Half-time: 0-28

Weather: lovely.

Attendance: 607

Moment of the match: the roaring comeback brought back memories of the old "York York York" chants of Huntington Stadium's Pop Stand, with Kriss Brining's equalising try raising the roof of Elmpark Way's terrace.

Gaffe of the match: there were simply too many to choose from in the first half, many of them costly as well as glaring. The worst and most bizarre was the brain explosion by Nev Morrison when he fluffed a grubber at his own line, then in trying to keep the ball in play merely flicked it forward and in-goal and straight to Rob Massam for a simple touchdown.

Gamebreaker: was it a penalty? Either way, it was a big call from referee Chris Leatherbarrow to award it at such a crucial game-changing time and for such a seemingly minor, if silly, offence. Being so close to the posts, it gave Crusaders an easy two points to win the game four minutes from time.

Match rating: absolutely awful first half from York’s perspective, but a wonderfully uplifting second... until the ultimate downer of that late penalty. North Wales, down to the bare bones, deserve great credit for their first-half dominance and, in the end, for seeing the game out.