MAYBE Ian Smith was right to send Jamie Bovill off just five minutes into his York City Knights debut against his former club. He is a Super League official after all.

Either way, his performance, and that decision in particular, was unfortunately the main talking point after the Knights' season opener against Hull KR.

The Oldham arbiter later said he had a good view of the incident - a high tackle on Byron Ford - and he certainly made his mind up quickly.

However, from the stands there seemed little malice or animosity. There was also little remonstration from the Rovers camp and the red card was met more with bemusement than expectation.

The distraught prop admitted he did make contact with Ford's neck as he went to grab his shirt, but there was no intent.

Only the video will prove just how bad it was - or wasn't - but the fact remains that, for the near-3,000 spectators, that controversial decision spoiled what should have been a great occasion.

It was not as if the Knights weren't up against it anyway.

They were already without three props - Dean O'Loughlin (knee injury), Adam Sullivan (gastroenteritis) and Craig Fosyth (flu), so John Smith was asked to punch above his weight in the front row, which he did courageously.

Captain Dan Potter was also ruled out and could miss up to six weeks after injuring a hamstring in the preceding training session. This, following Neil Law's car crash last week - Law was at the game - meant the Knights were without both front-line centres, while natural replacement Chris Spurr was kept out by a recurring ankle problem.

And the tale of woe got worse early in the second half when Mark Cain, in his first competitive game for ten months following shoulder surgery, was helped off after tearing medial ligaments in his right knee. He could be out for anything between two months and the season.

On the day, it meant the Knights had only 15 players to rotate thereafter, and in such circumstances the biggest surprise was that trophy holders Hull KR had so much trouble in making their advantages tell.

They were even two men up either side of half-time as former Robin Phil Hasty was sin-binned - at which point York 9s creator Lionel Hurst, who was watching, must have thought his competition was coming sooner than planned.

Still, the fact it wasn't until the last 16 minutes that Rovers broke off the shackles was testament to the commitment and tackling prowess shown by Mick Cook's men.

Knights had no right to be just six points down at half-time as they pulled off tackle after tackle.

They had fallen behind in the first minute as Gareth Morton booted a penalty for an incorrect play-the-ball, but they equalised a minute after Bovill's red card as winger Lee Lingard expertly kept Rovers' penalty to touch in play and won a free-kick of his own 20 yards out, which Hasty goaled.

Rovers scored only one try in the first half, and referee Smith played his part in that, too - as he did with a couple of others after the break. He gave them a second consecutive set in the danger zone after deeming a Knight had played the ball, and Iain Morrison made use of the extra man.

The error count was reasonably low in the greasy conditions but York's handling at times let them down, meaning they defended too much for their own good.

They did come close as the impressive David Bates blasted through, and they could have done better when Scott Rhodes burst onto a deflected kick but the pass to the supporting Craig Farrell was not really on.

This led to Hasty's yellow card as Rovers gathered the loose ball and broke forward, with the half-back effecting the tackle but halting the play-the-ball, and it was while York were down to 11 men that Rovers scored again through Ford in the corner.

The Knights appeared to get a what would have been a deserved try when Jon Liddell burst onto Jim Elston's pass, but referee Smith said he had not crossed the whitewash, as he did when Elston looked to dig in.

Four minutes later, Scott Murrell scored at the other end - York's off-season target was otherwise outshone by opposing half-backs Hasty and Rhodes - as Rovers finally decided to throw the ball about.

That too came on the back of a questionable knock-on call and, after York were caught offside at the restart, Ben Fisher crossed.

The sides were even for the last eight minutes as David Tongata-Toa was sin-binned but the fresher legs brought a last-minute try for Michael Smith from a stolen scrum.

Match facts

Northern Rail Cup

Group 6 match

Sunday, February 12, 2005

at Huntington Stadium

Knights 2, Hull KR 32

Knights: Blaymire 8, Lingard 7, Farrell 8, Spicer 9, Clarke 8, Rhodes 9, Hasty 8, Bovill 5, Liddell 7, J Smith 8, Golden 8, Paterson 7. Subs (all used): Elston 9, Cain 6, Buckley 8, Bates 9.

Tries: None. Conversions: None. Penalties: Hasty, 6. Drop goals: None. Sin-binned: Hasty 36. Sent off: Bovill 5.

Hull KR: Cockayne, Rivett, Goddard, Morton, Ford, Barker, Murrell, Stephenson, Fisher, Aizue, Morrison, M Smith, Gallagher. Subs (all used): Couturier, Joseph, Netherton, Tangata-Toa.

Tries: Morrison 21; Ford 45; Murrell 64; Fisher 67; M Smith 79. Conversions: Morton 21; Murrell 45; Couturier 64, 67, 79.. Penalty: Morton 1. Drop goals: None.Sin-binned: Tangata-Toa 72. Sent off: None.

Man of the match

Man of the match: Rob Spicer - switched to centre in the absence of Neil Law and Dan Potter and was superb defensively and whenever he got the ball. There were fine performances throughout the team in the circumstances.

Referee: Ian Smith (Oldham). Rating: Sending-off decision spoilt the game before it had really begun.

Penalty count: 13-10

HT: 2-8

Gamebreaker: The sending off.

Moment of the match: A crunching early tackle by Dave Buckley on Michael Smith flattened the heavyweight second-rower on his back.

Attendance: 2,809.

Weather watch: greasy but not particularly cold.

Match rating: York made a good game of it despite their disadvantages and the late - and to an extent predictable - scores flattered the visitors.

Updated: 11:44 Monday, February 13, 2006