Keighley Cougars 32, York City Knights 18 (From York Press)

Keighley Cougars 32, York City Knights 18

8:14am Monday 21st September 2009 in

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YORK City Knights boss James Ratcliffe said a few weeks ago that he’d prefer to play Keighley rather than Oldham in the Championship One play-offs.

As it is, his side will play both after they lost 32-18 at Cougar Park in yesterday’s qualifying play-off while Oldham knocked out Hunslet to set up an elimination semi-final at Huntington Stadium next week.

The Knights, however, will have their work cut out to complete a 2009 treble over the Roughyeds and set up a rematch with the Cougars in the grand final.

Firstly, the Lancastrians have seemingly found renewed form, and secondly, the Knights could have barely come away from Cougar Park more battered and bruised, not just mentally after being outfought by Barry Eaton’s men, who may have used Ratcliffe’s words as additional incentive, but also physically.

That they came out so physically battered is something for the Rugby Football League disciplinary panel to look into.

Danny Ratcliffe was laid low in an off-the-ball incident – allegedly a horror punch – involving Cougars two-try hero Daley Williams, so much so he suffered a suspected broken jaw and broken nose and had to be helped off the field, barely conscious, by two trainers.

How referee Ronnie Laughton, two touch judges, two in-goal judges and the sixth official all missed it doesn’t bare thinking about, but hopefully it was caught on video and will be dealt with justly.

Of course, the disciplinary panel has been notoriously cruel to the Knights – star man David March was suspended for this match and will be for the Oldham game – but we can live in hope.

It wasn’t the only thing the officials missed.

They also missed a late high shot on Adam Mitchell by old Cougars team-mate Gavin Duffy, right in front of a touch judge, as the game got feisty following the Ratcliffe incident.

And they had earlier missed a blatant high tackle on Dave Clayton in-goal, awarding a dropout while Clayton lay prone on the deck, later suffering concussion.

Clayton was already suitably riled by the officials having had two tries ruled out at crucial times.

That said, the failure of the officials to either see or act upon any of these controversial moments should not detract from the fact the Knights were second best.

They were out-enthused and the Cougars won the game up front to allow their two half-backs, Danny Jones and man-of-the-match Jon Presley, to take charge with ball in hand and with an excellent kicking game.

They outplayed their opposite numbers, although York’s plans were dealt a blow midway through the first half when scrum-half Gareth Moore suffered a dead leg and had to be helped off. He did play a part later on at hooker to give Paul Hughes a breather, but hobbled throughout.

Presley set up the opening try, breaking away past missed tackles to send in left-winger Duffy, who moments earlier had been crocked in a high challenge with Clayton, who had taken a fine catch under pressure.

Clayton appeared to hit back when he was on the end of a Loz Wildbore kick, but referee Ronnie Laughton deemed John Oakes had knocked the ball forward in the aerial challenge.

Immediately a 40-20 by Jones set the platform for Williams to finish superbly from the scrum, despite the best efforts of Richard Blakeway.

The Knights were up against it but the best player of the opening quarter, Sean Hesketh, got them back in the game.

After the Knights had been given possession and territory by a forward pass by Jamaine Wray, Hesketh collected Paul Hughes’ flat pass and powerfully spun over the whitewash.

However, Moore was injured in the build-up and, while substitute half-back Adam Mitchell brought more size to the left-side defence, a key facet of the Knights’ recent attacking prowess was gone.

But, that man Hesketh again got York on the board.

He smashed through and gave an inside scoring pass to Ratcliffe. Wildbore added his second conversion for a 12-10 lead.

It seemed the tide was turning but Keighley, on the back of probing kicks by Presley and fine work up front from Aussie subs Brendan Rawlins and Ryan Benjafield, regained the ascendancy.

Oakes lost the ball to Williams in a one-on-one tackle, and Keighley worked an overlap for Williams to benefit from his own good work.

Three minutes later, after Benjafield had blasted through a Jordan Ross tackle and raced 40 metres, George Rayner got on the end of a impromptu kick as the defence ball-watched. Jones’ second conversion made it 20-12.

The first try of the second half seemed crucial, but Clayton had another effort ruled out for a foot in touch and, although Ratcliffe pulled off a try-saving tackle on Presley at the other end, the little Keighley half-back got his reward a minute later when touching down a Jones grubber.

Clayton was soon tackled around the head in-goal, but Laughton awarded a drop-out rather than a penalty at a time when the Cougars didn’t need any extra help.

They had all the ball and possession in the third quarter, and extended the lead to 26-12 with a Jones penalty, while the Knights found no spark and were doing far too much tackling against a side clearly in their element.

The game could easily have boiled over in the aftermatch of the Ratcliffe incident, but it was a good job it didn’t as further injuries to Clayton, Moore, Lee Waterman, Steve Lewis and Wildbore meant their play-off chances were already left in the balance, without any more suspensions.

Time and again they defended manfully on their own line but the hosts worked another overlap and Jones scored and goaled to seal victory, and Wildbore’s effort in the last minute, converted by Mitchell, was of meagre consolation.

Match facts

Keighley: Rayner, Gardner, Potter, Williams, Duffy, Presley, Jones, Law, Wray, Shickell, Cartledge, Purseglove, C Hughes. Subs (all used): Haythornthwaite, Nicholson, Rawlins, Benjafield.

Tries: Duffy 8; Williams 12, 33; Rayner 36; Presley 51; Jones 71.

Conversions: Jones 8, 36, 71.

Penalties: Jones 59.

Drop goals: None.

Knights: Ratcliffe 7, Lewis 6, Oakes 6, Haberecht 6, Clayton 6, Wildbore 6, Moore 6, Hesketh 8, P Hughes 7, Applegarth 7, Kelly 7, Ross 6, Blakeway 7. Subs (all used): A Mitchell 6, Clough 6, Waterman 6, Sullivan 6.

Tries: Hesketh 16; Ratcliffe 25; Wildbore 80.

Conversions: Wildbore 16, 26; A Mitchell 80.

Penalties: None.

Drop goals: None.

Man of the match: Sean Hesketh – big first stint included a try and he put himself about when he returned to the fray, but his efforts couldn’t stop Keighley winning the forwards battle.

Referee: Ronnie Laughton (Barnsley). Rating: missed the horror punch on Danny Ratcliffe, a late shot on Adam Mitchell and a blatant high tackle on Dave Clayton in-goal – when he instead awarded a dropout at a time in the game, the third quarter, when Keighley didn’t need any help.

Penalty count: 8-7.

Weather: sunny.

Half-time: 20-12.

Attendance: 1,501.

Gamebreaker: the first try of the second half. York had theirs disallowed when the gap could have been cut to 20-18, and Keighley went up the other end to make it 24-12 and go on to dominate the third quarter.

Moment of the match: Danny Ratcliffe’s try from Hesketh’s hard work gave York the lead for the only time, and only for seven minutes. Ratcliffe’s day couldn’t have ended much worse.

Match rating: the game had all that is good and bad about rugby, and York were on the receiving end of the bad.