YORK City Knights booked their place in the final of the 1895 Cup final after defeating Swinton Lions 36-22 in the LNER Community Stadium.

Here are five things we learnt from the game.

1. York City Knights are going to Wembley

It is by no means a particularly insightful statement, but most importantly is the fact that York City Knights are heading to Wembley Stadium.

For the first time since 1931, when beaten by Halifax in the Challenge Cup final, York will play at the country’s national stadium.

It is yet another remarkable milestone under the stewardship of head coach James Ford, who has already won a League One title and established the Knights as genuine promotion contenders.

They face Featherstone Rovers in the final, perhaps the hardest possible tie, considering their only defeat this year has come to Betfred Super League giants Hull FC.

Regardless of the result, it should be a joyous occasion for the team and its supporters. Credit too should go the often-maligned RFL for the brilliant concept.

2. Mikey Lewis has been a pleasure to watch

Amid the ongoing saga surrounding academy set-ups, it feels timely to highlight a extremely talented youngster. Mikey Lewis seems to encapsulate the instinctive joy of watching a teenager bursting onto the scene.

Playing in the halves as a 19-year-old at a top-end Betfred Championship club requires plenty of mettle, but Lewis, and his counterpart Riley Dean, seem to possess that in abundance, with the fearlessness of youth clearly at the fore.

Against Swinton, Lewis was rarely out of the action. While some passes hit the deck and he dished out a needless high shot, Lewis also came up with a stunning 90-metre runaway try and what looked like a 40/20 kick, only to be contentiously ruled inches away by the officials.

It would be unsurprising to York fans to see Lewis go on and have great success in Super League, now he is back with Hull KR.

3. Impact of interchanges crucial for York

The game changing moment against Swinton was the introduction of York's interchanges, all of whom made a important impacts off the bench.

The most telling contribution was from man-of-the-match Kriss Brining whose try after half-time felt like the clincher.

Added to that, Marcus Stock scored a brilliant individual try while James Green and Jordan Baldwinson also carried strongly in the pack.

4. Good to see York putting points on the board

Since their promotion to the Championship, York have not been particularly noted for putting huge scores on the board.

Against opposition from the same tier, the 36 points they bagged against Swinton was the second most from their last 29 games.

5. LNER Community Stadium beginning to feel like home

After several weeks of behind-closed-doors matches, finally York's new home is beginning to feel like just that.

The crowd again increased at the weekend, with 1,451 in attendance, and the post-match celebrations and interactions with the supporters were great to see.

While we remain under coronavirus restrictions, atmospheres will inevitably feel differently, though slowly but surely, normality is returning.