Knights 40, Keighley Cougars 30

10:06am Monday 19th May 2008

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MAYBE, just maybe, good times are returning to Huntington Stadium.

York City Knights fans have waited a long while to witness the first home win of 2008, but they got it yesterday as their team turned over National League Two leaders Keighley 40-30 in a wonderfully exciting - and nerve-shredding - game.

York played superb rugby to build a 34-12 lead after 50 minutes but, in a game which mirrored last week's win at Swinton, the opposition got a roll on and got back to within four points.

However, just as it looked like the Cougars would go on to win it, the Knights regrouped, regained focus and determinedly held on.

And when Gareth Greenwood scored a solo try in stoppage time to secure victory, the place erupted.

Paul March's men perhaps did not learn the lessons of last week, when they switched off to allow 12-man Swinton back into the game, but victory yesterday was no less than they deserved against a side who were not top for no reason.

York got off to the perfect start when Keighley winger Ryan Smith fumbled a 20-metre restart to concede a scrum and, from player-coach March's pass, Rob Spicer ran over Craig Fawcett to touch down.

Ryan Esders, whose goalkicking has improved, added the first of his six conversions.

The scores were level moments later as ex-Knights captain Dan Potter challenged for Danny Jones' high kick and the ball fell kindly to Fawcett to score, Jones beginning his 100 per cent conversion return.

Potter was hardly in the game thereafter, though, while another player who was at York last season, full-back George Rayner, was kept reasonably quiet.

Jones fluffed a 25-metre penalty - his only miss at goal - before York took command, much like they did at Swinton, with a blistering blitz of tries.

After a penalty took them upfield, superb passing from left to right ended with Esders dummying in. Esders was the best centre on show, though Rob Spicer did not do badly either.

The former then danced into a gap and surged forward, and Dave Buckley buccaneered up in support to score.

Buckley had retained the loose-forward role as March went with the same 17 as at Swinton, though this time starting with Scott Woodcock at prop and Danny Ekis on the bench. Fellow sub prop Andy Bailey showed he was worth a start, too, with a big game.

The Knights' enthusiastic defence was personified when, on the last tackle, they forced Keighley back 40 metres to the half-way line - and they reaped immediate dividend.

Ross Divorty got a wonderful offload out to Mapals and, although he was stopped by opposite number Rayner, he got the ball back to Paul Hughes and he sent Spicer crashing in again.

Keighley replied on the half-hour as Brendan Rawlins blasted in, fellow sub Jamaine Wray having injected his usual purpose at hooker.

York's defence was tested - not least by Wray, who was the third and probably most effective ex-Knight on show - but they stood up to the challenge and forced a couple of drop-outs. And from the second, just before half-time, they scored.

Great work by Hughes was taken on by Greenwood, who darted from dummy-half and gave a little pass to put fellow sub Mark Applegarth crashing over.

Greenwood had replaced Buckley at loose-forward, while Applegarth made his mark in the second row, showing some of the form that made him Player of the Month for February.

It became 34-12 nine minutes into the second period as March ghosted into a hole down the inside left and gave second-row Divorty, who was having another big game, the scoring pass.

The Knights were thus in control - or at least they should have been.

Instead, Keighley got momentum, on the back of a big hit from prop Andy Shickell which knocked the wind out of Hughes.

The livewire York hooker had to go off, and, although this merely brought captain Buckley back onto the field, Greenwood switching to hooker - to decisive effect at the death - the Knights were disrupted and the Cougars got on top.

Jon Presley scored a fine solo try and, after the visitors went close again, Mapals knocking down a scoring pass, big prop Shickell crashed over.

Then, after Mapals knocked-on in the first tackle, Chris Redfearn scored from an overlap - bringing the Cougars to within a converted try of victory with ten minutes left.

It seemed there would be only one winner, but the Knights refocused and regathered themselves, Esders making two vital big tackles.

And, with the game still in the balance, Greenwood picked up from dummy-half 25 metres out and somehow reached the line.

Knights: Mapals 7, Oakes 7, Esders 8, Spicer 8, Lewis 7, Ratcliffe 7, P March 8, Sullivan 7, Hughes 8, Woodcock 6, Divorty 8, Kelly 6, Buckley 7.

Subs (all used): Greenwood 7, Applegarth 8, Bailey 8, Ekis 7.

Tries: Spicer 3, 20; Esders 14; Buckley 17; Applegarth 40; Divorty 49; Greenwood 80.

Conversions: Esders 3, 17, 20, 40, 49, 80.

Penalties: None.

Drop goals: None.

Sin-binned: None.

Sent off: None.

Keighley: Rayner, Smith, Purseglove, Potter, Gardner, Jones, Fawcett, Shickell, Feather, Bissell, Nicholson, Knight, Redfearn.

Subs (all used): Wray, Presley, Rawlins, Norcross.

Tries: Fawcett 7; Rawlins 30; Presley 61; Shickell 64; Redfearn 69.

Conversions: Jones 7, 30, 61, 64, 69.

Penalties: None.

Drop goals: None.

Sin-binned: None.

Sent off: None

Man of the match: Paul Hughes - the hooker was a real livewire, quick at the play-the-ball, always in support, making good ground and taking the game to Keighley.

Referee: Robert Hicks (Oldham). Rating: frustrating - just look at the penalty count.

Penalty count: 4-10.

Weather: okay.

Half-time: 28-12.

Attendance: 1,347.

Gamebreaker: It should have been the three tries in six first-half minutes, but it ended up being Gareth Greenwood's stoppage-time touchdown, where he sprinted through two tackles and fought his way over.

Moment of the match: that stoppage-time Gareth Greenwood try which had the fans jumping for joy.

Match rating: excellent entertainment, a nervy final quarter and a superbly happy ending.