York City Knights beat play-off rivals Widnes Vikings 32-6

The two sides had been evenly-matched through the first half and York only led 16-6 at the break primarily through two well-taken breakaway tries.

Widnes posed little attacking threat during the second period while the Knights were able to their advantage thanks to three more tries without reply.

Having won four of their first five league matches, Widnes were expected to give York their biggest test of the season, putting aside two top Featherstone Rovers and Leigh Centurions.

But the Knights made Widnes look ordinary during the second half and looked a far cry from the side which lost at Whitehaven last time out.

That was though of little surprise given the inclusion of three half-backs in their 17. For the first time this year, Brendan O’Hagan, Jamie Ellis and Liam Harris were including in the same side by head coach James Ford.

And while Ellis would later go off injured, such creative talent caused Widnes all sorts of problems to go alongside some strike on the edge.

The return of Pauli Pauli also paid dividends. Back after suspension, Ford looks to have found his perfect role at prop, playing short stints and, as a result, able to bully the opposition pack.

Pauli was back after being banned for dangerous play, amid the RFL’s much-reported clampdown on such acts.

The issue reigned its head at the LNER Community Stadium again as Widnes prop Eribe Doro was sin-binned for a tip tackle on seven minutes, which looked a little harsh on first viewing.

Regardless, York capitalised upon their man advantage by opening the scoring.

After winning back-to-back goal-line drop-outs, the Knights cheaply gave up the ball. But as they came out of yardage, O’Hagan broke clear down the left and threw a well-placed cut-out pass to the supporting Marsh who sprinted over from halfway.

Jamie Ellis converted his first of two goals from three attempts.

During the opening quarter, Widnes still retained the majority of the field position and territory, won primarily through the expert kicking of ex-Wigan and St Helens half-back Matty Smith.

It was however Widnes’ other half Joe Lyons who created the equalising try.

The stand-off’s cross field kick found its way to Adam Lawton who produced a remarkable kick-and-chase try, the likes of which are unlikely to be matched this year by a back-rower.

Steve Tyrer levelled the scores with a successful conversion.

York immediately hit back with another stunning break-away try, again down the left flank.

Leeds Rhinos loanee Levi Edwards skipped past a handful of Widnes defenders to put himself in the clear and O’Hagan was the grateful supporting recipient.

The Knights added to their advantage on the half-hour mark, on the back of a penalty.

An Edwards half-break allowed Will Jubb to pass onto Brad Ward who produced another spectacular acrobatic finish in the left corner, to go alongside a similar effort against Newcastle Thunder last month.

Widnes still remained a threat and dominated the half’s final 10 minutes, but ultimately to no avail.

Jack Owens kicked to the corner, but Steve Tyrer could only get one hand to the ball, which ran dead.

In the last few seconds of the first period, Widnes created an overlap on the left, only to see Owens’ pass find the touchline rather than Matty Fleming.

The second-half started at a rather dour pace as the two sides battled set for set, knowing that, with a 10-point gap in place, the next score would be crucial.

In the end, York won the arm wrestle on the back of the dangerous Smith kicking too predictably at Ward.

O’Hagan conjured another assist for Marsh, this time coming from a lovely reverse chip inside which found the ever-willing full-back in support.

With Jamie Ellis off the field due to a hamstring problem, Liam Harris took over the kicking duties and scored his first of two conversions from three attempts.

Widnes never got going in the second half and their play lacked any real urgency despite trailing by 16 points.

Both sides began to make repeated errors, although that would ultimately benefit the Knights.

By the final quarter of an hour, the reliable kicking game of Smith had deserted Widnes as the veteran kicked too deep for the chasing Ryan Ince.

From the next set, Will Jubb deceptively turned right instead of left where York had appeared to set up and laid off to Marcus Stock who cleverly stepped over.

Another Widnes error put York in prime position for a debut try for Edwards who dived in from a clever shift play on the left-hand side.

At the other end, Edwards come up with a brilliant last-ditch tackle on Lyons to ensure that York would finish with a second-half clean sheet, a fitting reward for a battling team performance.

York: Marsh, Brown, Glover, Edwards, Ward, O’Hagan, Ellis, Matongo, Jubb, Pauli, Clarkson, Kirmond, Thompson.

Subs (all used): Teanby, Dixon, Stock, Harris.

Tries: Marsh (12’, 52’), O’Hagan (23’), Ward (29’), Stock (65’), Edwards (73’)

Goals: Ellis (2/3), Harris (2/3)

York’s player of the match: Brendan O’Hagan. Created both of Matty Marsh’s tries and scored one himself.

Widnes: Roby, Ince, Fleming, Tyrer, Holroyd, Smith, Lyons, Dupree, Fozard, Grady, Davies, Wilde, Brown.

Subs (all used): Doro, Lawton, Tilleke, Gregory.

Tries: Lawton (20’)

Goals: Tyrer (1/1)

Sin-bin: Doro (7’)

Referee: Ben Thaler

Attendance: 2,156