IF the saying “any win’s a good win” is correct, then this was pushing it.

York City Knights’ performance in their 25-24 victory over South Wales certainly wasn’t good, and it was very nearly not a win.

In fact, it probably shouldn’t have been, as the visitors wasted the chance to go for a decisive drop goal before the Knights took theirs and landed the spoils.

Just like in the 2010 opener against Leigh, player-coach Chris Thorman was the match-winner with the late one-pointer – this one coming 28 seconds into stoppage time.

But while that victory was deserved, encouraging and exciting, this one was neither deserved nor encouraging and was only exciting in the wrong way as a performance which flitted between average and awful helped to keep the scores close.

One positive for the Knights is they won without playing well, and another is the record of six wins in eight outings – all without head coach James Ratcliffe, who returns from his two-month suspension this week.

Another is the fact they, perhaps bizarrely given their form, find themselves top of Championship One after three league games. But, again, much better performances are needed if they are to stay anywhere near there.

The new Welsh outfit are better than some people give them credit for, as shown by wins over Workington and Doncaster, and in prop Gil Dudson they had the best player on the pitch.

Indeed, coach Anthony Seibold’s assertion in The Press on Saturday that their goal was to win just five games in their inaugural season is probably mind play. But he will know they missed a great opportunity to make it three against their more fancied hosts.

They lulled Yorkies into a false sense of security when booting the kick off straight out to give away a penalty. But within three minutes they were ahead.

Home full-back Danny Ratcliffe defused a massive bomb but promptly lost the ball in a one-on-one tackle, and Lewis Mills scored, scrum-half Lloyd White kicking his first of four conversions.

Four minutes later, Ratcliffe’s bobbling pass was fumbled by Steve Lewis ten yards from his own line, and the full-back took a clattering in the process, forcing him off for 25 minutes to find his head, with Lee Waterman switching to full-back and Luke Hardbottle coming into the centres.

If it was a bad opening for Ratcliffe, he was one of the better players after his return.

The Knights’ situation worsened when Casey Bromilow was sin-binned by referee Matt Thomason for slowing the play-the-ball near half-way – a professional foul after he had chased back to tackle winger David James, who had gathered a Hardbottle knock-on.

The Knights also lost hooker Paul Stamp to an old back problem, meaning they were also a man down in the substitute rotations.

Stamp had started at hooker, with Joe McLocklan at loose- forward, in the combination that had worked well in the second half of last week’s loss at Workington. Captain Richard Blakeway was dropped to the bench.

Ironically, it was when Blakeway replaced Stamp and McLocklan reverted to hooker that the Knights scored – through McLocklan smartly going by himself from dummy-half, a highlight of his hard-working 80-minute show. Lee Waterman added the first of his four conversions.

Blakeway’s pass then had Jordan Ross rampaging but the second-row was prevented from touching down.

York did then take the lead when Thorman sent Brett Waller crashing over.

The Scorpions had been error-strewn in the second quarter but York’s own mistakes meant they could not take advantage, and when the Welshmen tidied up at the start of the second half, they retook the lead.

Dudson touched down a White grubber as defenders stood still, and winger Craig Richards scored after the Knights’ right-side defence had been penetrated.

As for the Knights, when they didn’t drop the ball they looked one-paced and lacked fluency.

However, the scores were again level when Ratcliffe touched down Thorman’s kick just before the ball bobbled dead, others having given up the chase.

And the pendulum swung back their way on 66 minutes on the back of Wayne Reittie’s excellent relieving run after he had caught a difficult kick on his own line.

Bromilow had been back on the pitch a while but was hardly noticed until speeding through a gap on the only occasion he took on the defence.

That should have boosted confidence but instead mistakes in possession by Brett Waller and Mark Applegarth near their own line increased the pressure, and the defence could not make amends as livewire substitute Steve Parry equalised five minutes from time.

A penalty after the restart then got the Scorpions into a position to go for a drop goal, but they didn’t set it up. The Knights, and in particular Thorman, made no such mistake at the other end.


Match facts

Knights: Ratcliffe 7, Reittie 6, Lewis 6, Waterman 6, Lineham 6, Thorman 7, Bromilow 6, Applegarth 5, Stamp 5, Freer 6, Ross 7, Hill 6, McLocklan 7.

Subs (all used): Blakeway 6, Hardbottle 6, Waller 6, Fallon 6.

Tries: McLocklan 16; Waller 28; Ratcliffe 51; Bromilow 66.

Conversions: Waterman 16, 28, 51, 66.

Penalties: None.

Drop goal: Thorman 80.

Sin-binned: Bromilow 11.

Sent off: None.


Scorpions: Gay, D James, Williams, Bateman, Richards, Wildbore, White, Mills, Owens, Dudson, Roets, Dallimore, A James.

Subs (all used): Parry, Phillips, Greville, Murphy.

Tries: Mills 3; Dudson 42; Richards 44; Parry 75.

Conversions: White 3, 42, 44, 75.

Penalties: None.

Drop goals: None.

Sin-binned: None.

Sent off: None.


Man of the match: Jordan Ross – the second-row as hard working and hard running as usual.

Referee: Matthew Thomason (Warrington) – occasionally lax on offsides and should have sin-binned at least one Scorpion for their persistent lying-on.

Penalty count: 13-8.

Weather watch: A lovely spring day.

Half-time: 12-6.

Attendance: 663.

Moment of the match: Individual brilliance came from Wayne Reittie when he caught a bomb on his own line under pressure and then made 30 yards on the counter attack. The best moment, though, was Thorman’s late drop goal, which was expertly set up and executed. Gaffe of the match: Scorpions’ failure to set up a drop goal attempt in the preceding attack.

Game-breaker: Thorman’s drop goal, obviously.

Match rating: It was an exciting, nervy finale, but the winning one-pointer brought more relief than joy, as it was far from a good game, the Knights looking laboured and making too many errors.