MICK Cook promised at the end of last season that his York City Knights side would try to not put their fans through the mill any more. Well, that promise has been broken.

Last year's comeback kings proved they have not lost their penchant for turning around seemingly insurmountable deficits. Nor, however, have they lost their inclination to make life difficult for themselves.

Yesterday they fell 18-10 behind to Swinton with just 13 minutes of the Challenge Cup fourth round tie remaining, and the dream of another memorable run or big night out against Super League opposition seemed lost.

Matt Blaymire's clever little kick then saw Neil Law dive on the ball to give them hope, but they still needed another converted try with nine minutes to get it.

That ticked down to six when the ball made its way to Scott Rhodes 25 yards out. There appeared little on but the diminutive stand-off proceeded to prove how valuable individual match-winners can be.

His pace off the mark turned a little gap into a big one and through he went, sidestepping a defender and beating the last man to the line.

The try had come on the back of a controversial penalty for reefing, when John Smith had the ball taken off him in a two-on-one tackle as he looked to offload, while home fans also claimed a forward pass in the build-up to Law's touchdown.

But Oldham referee Ian Smith had ruled out an earlier Law try for offside and the key decisions evened themselves out.

Even then, the Knights nearly shot themselves in the foot. A last-minute grubber looked well covered as Phil Hasty slid on to the ball, but it flew off his knee and in the melee that followed beneath the posts, the Knights knocked-on, giving Swinton one last opportunity.

Loose-forward Martin Moana thought he had won it but was held up inches short and, after a rushed pass went out of play, the Knights ran down the last few seconds.

A similar error to Hasty's, when Craig Farrell slid in to pick up a kick but lost it, had led to Kris Smith giving Swinton an early lead with a penalty for offside.

The lead lasted five minutes before Hasty's grubber was deflected into the path Rhodes, who made no mistake, Hasty converting.

The sides traded errors in conditions befitting a cup tie of yesteryear, but given the mud and wetness, it was a surprise there weren't more slip-ups as the teams defied the heavy going to put on an excellent encounter.

Some errors proved more costly than others - as Paul Clarke found out.

The Knights winger dropped a simple kick 20 yards out and Swinton worked an overlap down the other flank for Andy Saywell to equalise.

Clarke, who later went off with concussion, lost the ball again in the tackle and, after he defended a kick to concede a drop-out, Saywell looked to score again from the repeat set but juggled and lost the ball in the corner.

In between Clarke's blunders, Law had his try from a Rhodes kick chalked off, a score which would have given the visitors a half-time lead they possibly deserved having shaded the first half.

They had the slight slope in the second and saw home dangerman Wayne English limp off just before the break, but Swinton began the period better and, after Blaymire dropped the ball for the second time in the match - and the season - Marlon Billy found himself in acres to cross in the corner.

Blaymire made amends, and benefited from the conditions, as he slid home from about ten yards. That came on the back of a good offload by Jamie Bovill, although big Dean O'Loughlin was the most noticeable prop for his driving runs.

Mistakes continued to turn the game this way and that before Billy beat Blaymire to a kick to score, with Liam McGovern's second touchline conversion putting the hosts eight points clear.

The fightback, however, showed the magic of the cup, for York at least, lives on.

Swinton: English, Saywell, Alstead, Llewellyn, Billy, Coates, Watson, Whittaker, Crabtree, Rogers, Morley, K Smith, Moana. Subs (all used): McGovern, Marshall, Stout, James.

Tries: Saywell 21; Billy 45, 67.

Conversions: McGovern 45, 67.

Penalties: K Smith 7.

Drop-goals: None.

Sin-binned: None.

Sent off: None.

Knights:Blaymire 6, Clarke 5, Spicer 7, Law 7, Farrell 6, Rhodes 8, Hasty 6, Sullivan 7, Liddell 7, Bovill 7, J Smith 7, Golden 7, Paterson 7. Subs (all used): Elston 7, Blanchard 7, Buckley 6, O'Loughlin 7.

Tries: Rhodes 12, 74; Blaymire 49; Law 71.

Conversions: Hasty 12, 74.

Penalties: None.

Drop-goals: None.

Sin-binned: None.

Sent off: None.

Man of the match: Scott Rhodes - conditions did not suit fleet-footed players but his individual brilliance won the game, while his kicking game and ball use was good and his defence excellent.

HT: 6-6.

Referee: Ian Smith (Oldham).

Rating: Pretty good, though only video evidence will show if he got the big calls correct.

Penalty count: 7-5.

Gamebreaker: Either Rhodes' winning try or the tackle that saw Swinton loose-forward Martin Moana held up inches short of the line with seconds remaining.

Moment of the match: The quality sidestep and dart to the line from Scott Rhodes that won the game for the Knights with six minutes left.

Attendance: 672.

Weather watch: Persistent rain stopped midway through first half but the pitch was already a giant mud puddle.

Match rating: Excellent, hard-fought, tense old-fashioned cup tie, which belied the conditions and ended with a nail-biting finale.

Updated: 09:42 Monday, April 03, 2006