DAVE WOODS enjoyed a winning start to his reign as York City Knights head coach back at his old club, Gateshead, and, while it was not the complete performance, there were many pleasing aspects.

For starters, the winning margin – 60-12 – boosted the Knights’ points-difference, which could figure in the final Championship One reckoning.

On top of that, there was the successful introduction of three debutants – teenagers Scott Woods and Ed Smith, and the raw prop from York Acorn ARLC, Davey Burns.

The most pleasing aspect for the good gathering of Knights fans who made the journey north on Saturday was probably the quality and number of tries scored – six in the first half and five in the second.

For Woods, it was probably the first-half display, which was largely error-free and expansive at the right times. And with a defence which offered the hosts only once chance, which was denied when Tom Lineham knocked down a potential scoring pass.

Woods said beforehand he’d be concentrating on his troops’ defensive effort and, although Gateshead did not offer much threat, and nothing like that posed by the division’s leading teams, his men passed the challenge well enough.

The downside was the sloppiness that crept in after the break, and the fact the Knights failed in their bid to keep a clean sheet.

It was hardly terrible – note the five tries – but the hosts had more territory and a few sets in the red zone, helped by unnecessary penalties and indifferent Knights handling, the usually excellent Jack Lee among the culprits.

And they got their reward at either end of the half, both times through Matt Garside, firstly with a decent close-range finish and, later, from a flat pass.

By the time of the loose-forward’s first try, though, the Knights were 34 points to the good, and by the second they had hit the 60-point mark, so maybe complacency came into play.

Of the three incomers, Burns was probably the pick. While he was average before coming off after 15 minutes, his longer stint in the second half was very good, with two driving runs being particularly notable, the second of which set up Lee’s second try. His style was not unlike that of team-mate Jack Stearman, who likewise has risen from the York amateur scene.

Hopefully Burns can kick on from this debut, especially as he could play a bigger part in the run-in than he or the club might have previously thought, given the injury news surrounding John Fallon.

Woods came on after half an hour to give busy hooker Chris Williams a breather, with Lee moving from half-back to hooker. He did his job reliably, apart from a couple of defensive lapses, and he too should benefit for the experience.

Scholarship graduate Smith, who at 17 became one of the Knights’ youngest-ever players, did a fine job at loose-forward for his 25 second-half minutes, especially in defence where he dumped to ground bigger men with a textbook tackling technique not unlike that of team-mate Luke Hardbottle.

The pick elsewhere were probably Nathan Freer, who was a consistent force at prop, helping Burns settle in; scrum-half Danny Ratcliffe, who created openings aplenty with sublime passes, leading to a few tries in addition to his own solo effort; and points machine Lee Waterman.

The centre scored three superb tries, had another fine finish ruled out for a knock-on in back play, and booted eight more goals to increase his lead at the top of the Championships points charts.

He also provided the scoring pass for the opening touchdown by his winger Tom Lineham. It was a fine move, too, with Danny Wilson heavily involved on his return to old club Gateshead.

Lee got the second try, finishing excellently from dummy-half, and Lineham the third, picking up a loose ball on his own line and zooming away.

A superb Ratcliffe pass then sent Waterman away and he backed himself to beat the full-back and outpace the cover.

Stearman was the next to cross, on the back of a good run and quick play-the-ball by Matt Duckworth, and Ratcliffe scored just before half-time, breaking through in his own half and rounding the full-back wonderfully well.

Gateshead opened the second-half scoring but two superb offloads by Stearman – one to help gain ground, and the other to set up the try – saw Duckworth add to the lead.

Waterman scored a trademark try, powering in on the arc, and had another fine finish ruled out moments later, before full-back Wilson scored against his old club when touching down an excellent Ratcliffe kick.

Another great Ratcliffe pass saw Waterman complete his treble, and, before Garside’s second consolation, Lee rounded off York’s scoring when taking four tacklers with him over the line.

Match facts

Gateshead: Stoker, J Brown, Neighbour, T Wilson, Peers, Ry Clarke, Scott, Payne, Cash, Barron, Rh Clarke, Aderiye, Garside. Subs (all used): Bate, Parker, Welton, M Brown.

Tries: Garside 42, 77 Conversions: Scott 42, 77.

Penalties: None.

Drop goals: None.

Sin-binned: None.

Sent off: None.

Knights: Wilson 6, Tuffour 7, Mitchell 6, Waterman 8, Lineham 7, Lee 6, Ratcliffe 8, Freer 8, Williams 7, Burns 7, Ross 7, Duckworth 7, Hardbottle 6. Subs (all used): Woods 6, Benson 7, Smith 6, Stearman 7.

Tries: Lineham 4, 20; Lee 9, 74; Waterman 26, 59, 70; Stearman 29; Ratcliffe 39; Duckworth 45; Wilson 68.

Conversions: Waterman 9, 20, 26, 28, 39, 45, 68, 70, 74.

Penalties: None.

Drop goals: None.

Sin-binned: None.

Sent off: None.

Man of the match: Lee Waterman – Danny Ratcliffe was a creative force throughout but it is impossible to ignore the feats of the centre who equalled a Knights record.

Referee: Greg Dolan (Dewsbury) – okay.

Penalty count: 4-6.

Weather watch: pleasant and sunny to begin, then a shower and a bit of thunder too.

Half-time: 0-34.

Attendance: 350, approx.

Moment of the match: Lee Waterman replied to some barracking from the vocal home fans by completing a hat-trick, which, with his eight conversions, helped to take his personal tally to 28 points and keep him clear at the top of the Championships points-scoring charts.

Gaffe of the match: Lee Waterman broke through midway through the first half. With support left and right when faced with the full-back, he passed inside to Danny Ratcliffe – only for a covering defender to swallow up the ball.

Game-breaker:Tom Lineham’s second try put the Knights 16-0 up midway through the first half.

Match rating: top-notch first half for York was followed by a sloppier second albeit penetrated by some excellent tries.