Rochdale Hornets 16 York City Knights 36: match report and player ratings

Travelling to the high-flying Hornets on the back of a four-game losing run – their worst since returning to League One in 2014 – James Ford’s troops were not at their best but still took these Super 8s points thanks to a 36-16 victory.

It followed comprehensive wins against Alan Kilshaw’s men both in the regular season and in the iPro Sport Cup on this plush Spotland surface, plus victory last term too, upon Rochdale’s relegation to this tier.

The Hornets stayed second but the result lifted York back to fourth and back on track for the top-five play-offs.

The hosts, notwithstanding their position, didn’t look like promotion material on this showing, especially when compared to Barrow’s error-free display of power, patience and poise last week. They briefly flattered late on but only when the game was gone. Surely York cannot have seen the best of them this season.

Ford had rung the changes in a bid to stop the rot, with only Tommy Saxton keeping his place in the back line.

James Haynes was back at full-back – his first start since his knee reconstruction last year – and immediately offered a solidity missing in recent weeks.

Castleford loanee Brandon Westerman also made his debut at centre – he ran and tackled hard in an unfamiliar position - while there were recalls for fit-again Austin Buchanan and Tyler Craig.

Danny Nicklas was also back in the halves, with Pat Smith switching to hooker in the absence of the crocked Harry Carter.

In the pack, Micky Learmonth made his long-awaited return from his horror pectoral injury in pre-season, while big Brett Waller was also recalled.

Learmonth provided forcefulness but neither sub prop was given many minutes as they got back into the swing of things, nor was Andy Smith as he finds his feet in the middle - which meant another 80-minute stint for Jack Aldous up top, and a reliance on Russ Spiers to perform. That he did, blasting his way around the pitch in a man-of-the-match display.

Amid a feisty opening Rochdale went closest first but York forced the first dropout, on the back of Wayne English’s miss-field under a Nicklas bomb.

Their handling, however, was amiss and the pressure waned, but Rochdale were making just as many unforced errors, and the Knights took the lead midway through the half – Waller scoring with his first touch.

Craig’s break made ground, then Ed Smith bust between two defenders and offloaded, Waller stooping smartly to take the ball around his knees and touch down.

The Knights were getting on top, until a harsh penalty against Ed Smith, and then a little knock-on by Waller.

Good line defence stood firm – a major factor of victory throughout.

They should have gone further ahead as Kriss Brining looked set to scoot home from dummy-half but was whistled back for a York penalty for interference at the play-the-ball. The sub hooker immediately had another chance but, as his team-mates celebrated, referee Jon Roberts awarded a knock-on.

Soon it was 12-0, though, Rochdale again handing over possession cheaply.

Bizarrely the sprinklers came on as the scrum packed down but as they went off and the ball went in, Haynes took the pass, sidestepped his man and dived home.

It became 18-0 on half-time on the back of a seventh York penalty.

Rochdale for some reason gave Brining a sniff from dummy-half and the Knights’ top scorer needed no further invitation.

If the first half ended brilliantly for the Knights, the second began terribly.

Craig dropped the kick-off and Jono Smith, the rotund second-row who is so dangerous close to the line, barrelled over, Danny Yates converting.

Then Austin Buchanan was carried into touch near his own line. But, as Rochdale spread the ball wide looking to get in again, Jack Holmes’ pass flew into touch.

The visitors remained under pressure, some of it brought on themselves.

But their line defence again stood up to the task.

Then a penalty and a Brining break finally took play upfield and, with their first chance of the half, the Knights scored again.

An exchange of passes opened up acres down the left, Rochdale’s defence going AWOL, and Haynes sent Craig in.

If that creativity did for the Hornets on that occasion, Spiers’ brute force did so on the next, the prop swatting off defenders as he blasted a route to the line.

Rochdale were then their own worst enemies. Lucky to escape being punished for reefing, they were immediately penalised when in possession for speaking out of turn to ref Roberts.

From the attack that followed, Pat Smith’s flat pass gave Mike Emmett a walk-in.

The Hornets hit back after a regaining possession from the short restart, hooker Ben Moores digging in, Yates converting.

Then speedy play brought an excellent try for Jordan Case.

However, if they hadn’t already run out of time, they certainly had when they spilled the ball in the next set.

The hosts’ little cameo of quality over, daft interference at a play-the-ball then saw Craig, with his unique goalkicking style, add a late penalty to his five conversions to seal York’s return to winning ways.

MATCH FACTS

Rochdale 16 Knights 36

Rochdale: English, Holmes, Trumper, Ratu, Bloomfield, Roper, Yates, Taira, Moores, Thompson, Crowley, J Smith, Tilley. Subs (all used): Dandy, Hadden, Case, Tahraoui.

Tries: J Smith 42; Moores 71; Case 73.

Conversions: Craig 42, 71.

Penalties: none.

Sent off: none.

Sin-binned: none.

Knights: Haynes 8, Saxton 8, Westerman 7, Craig 6, Buchanan 7, Presley 6, Nicklas 7, Spiers 8, P Smith 7, Aldous 7, Tonks 7, E Smith 6, Emmett 7. Subs (all used): Brining 8, Learmonth 7, A Smith 6, Waller 6.

Tries: Waller 22; Haynes 37; Brining 40; Craig 56; Spiers 61; Emmett 67.

Conversions: Craig 22, 37, 40, 61, 67.

Penalties: Craig 79.

Sent off: none.

Sin-binned: none.

Man of the match: Russ Spiers – the prop, with extra onus on him due to short stints for Brett Waller, Micky Learmonth and Andy Smith, ran hard and true all day and capped his display with a fine try, smashing a route to the whitewash.

Referee: Jon Roberts (Leeds) – home fans weren’t happy but they’re a partisan lot.

Penalty count: 7-12

Weather: calm but overcast, with the sun briefly peeking through at the end.

Half-time: 0-18

Attendance: 430

Moment of the match: James Haynes marked his first start since his knee reconstruction with a fine solo try. Bizarrely the sprinklers came on as a scrum packed down 15 metres from the Rochdale line. But as the taps went off and the ball went in, Haynes took the first pass, sidestepped his man and gleefully dived home.

Gaffe of the match: there were too many errors for both coaches’ liking, but the biggest for the Knights was probably Tyler Craig spilling the second-half kick-off, giving the Hornets an immediate chance to cut York’s 18-0 interval lead, which they did through Jono Smith.

Gamebreaker: Rochdale briefly showed what they can do with clean, crisp, fast rugby league and two quick-fire tries, but by then the Knights had gone clear, their three tries in 12 minutes either side of the hour mark effectively sealing the spoils.

Match rating: the game could have been a cracker between two usually attractive sides on a great surface and in calm conditions, but neither team would have been happy with their errors with and without the ball. Obviously York had far more reasons to be happy come the final hooter; an important return to winning ways.