JAMES FORD has admitted that he has never before seen any ending to a match quite like the late winner that Featherstone Rovers secured in their 16-12 win at the LNER Community Stadium.

With the scores locked at 12-12 heading into the final few minutes, York half-back Riley Dean lined up a drop goal which Featherstone managed to successfully charge down.

The subsequent bounce of the ball went the way of the Rovers as Craig Hall collected and raced in for a dramatic winner.

York head coach Ford said: “The effort was sensational. I think that both teams’ efforts were sensational. It was a really high-quality game, very intense with lots of contact flying about.

“It’s certainly a first for me, to see a side charge a drop goal down and go 80-ish metres and score in the dying minutes of the game.

“But we’ve got to move past it and move past it as soon as possible, physically and emotionally, and bounce into our preparation at the start of the week.

“We need to learn one or two lessons and get our energy back up there ahead of Widnes.”

Featherstone were ranked as second favourites for promotion by the bookmakers before the season’s start and this victory was their fourth from as many matches in the Betfred Championship.

Only they and Toulouse Olympique still boast a 100 per cent winning start in the division.

“Featherstone are a great team full of good players and the intensity of the game was incredibly high,” Ford added.

“There are lots of positives and the most pleasing thing for me is that we can play a lot better than that.

“We’ll have a look at the video, get our prep right and we will be better than that.”