YORK City Knights fell to 12th place in the Beftred Championship after suffering a fifth straight league defeat. York were beaten 28-26 against Newcastle Thunder at the LNER Community Stadium.
Here are five things that we learnt from the game.
1. Pressure is now firmly on the Knights
Not since the 2013 season, which ended in relegation to the Championship, have York gone a run of five league defeats in a row.
All the surrounding talk has now switched from the hunt of the play-off place to a hunt for a win as soon as possible.
Putting aside the legitimate injury concerns, York’s squad, which had much off-season investment, has lost two must-win games and is now desperate for results to turn around their year.
Where that next win comes from, with a trip to in-form London and the 1895 Cup final against unbeaten Featherstone after that, remains to be seen.
2. York remain searching for answers at half-back
One of the recurring themes of the 2021 season for York has been the lack of consistency at half-back.
The persistent chopping and changing in that key position, due to injury and short-term loan deals, has seen eight different pairings used this year.
The situation got even worse on Sunday for York when they were without Brendan O’Hagan (injured), Riley Dean (administrative error) and Matty Marsh (isolating), while pivots Jamie Ellis and Jake Sweeting both returned to their parent clubs after loan spells last week.
That meant that winger Ben Jones-Bishop and second-rower Chris Clarkson lined up there and, for the first time this year, Kieran Dixon led the kicking.
Whoever fans may or may not chose to blame, York have simply been unable keeping one pair of halves fit or available and it seems to have proved costly.
3. Fight and character shown by York
After the hammerings suffered at Halifax Panthers and Whitehaven in recent weeks, head coach James Ford issued apologies to the club’s supporters.
Against Newcastle it was hard to fault the effort or character of the York players, who rallied tremendously from 20 points behind to trail by just two at one point in the game.
And, when Newcastle’s Alex Clegg went over for his second try to all but seal the win, again the Knights came back to score again in the game’s dying minutes.
In the end, the attacking nous of recognised half-backs let them down along with some poor defending at the start of the second half.
4. Positive return for Perry Whiteley
While York have been decimated by injuries at half-back and hooker, they have had an embarrassment of riches in the outside backs.
Against Newcastle, Perry Whiteley made his first Championship appearance of the year, having played 20 times for York in 2019, and was mightily impressive.
After a series of strong kick-return carries, he finished the game with a quite stunning acrobatic finish that a Super League winger would have been proud of.
5. York’s injuries continue to mount up
York were already without several of their key names for the visit of Newcastle, particularly through the spine of the team, including Adam Cuthbertson, Kriss Brining, O’Hagan and Marsh.
And there continued to be no let-up on the injury list. Prop Joe Porter was removed from the action in the first half against Newcastle and did not return as a result of his knee problem.
Perhaps more worryingly, given the Knights’ limited options there at present, hooker Will Jubb seemed to pick up an arm fracture in the opening 40 minutes, but he bravely came back on after half time.
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