James Ford blames lack of execution after Halifax defeat

Halifax raced into an 18-0 lead after 25 minutes but York worked themselves back into the game and spent the first half’s remaining quarter-of-an-hour camped in the Panthers 20.

Despite waves of pressure being thrown at Fax, Ford’s side only scored once in the decisive period.

“Where the game got away from us, I don’t think we executed our attacking plan as well as we are capable doing,” said head coach Ford.

“Alongside that, I thought Halifax’s defence was outstanding. I thought they worked incredible hard for one another and when we did break them, they found ways to get back and save tries.

“I thought we lacked depth when we went to the edges. I thought our pass accuracy was slightly off which killed a little bit of momentum in terms of that structured play.

“We created chances but Halifax pulled off some outstanding defence. To get back and tackle Joe Brown was a real key moment in the game.

“For us, we know where we need to get better and it’s just about putting in the hard work now. We just need to tidy up and improve our execution.”

The Knights had plenty of good ball, particularly in the first half, but were unable to make it count on numerous occasions.

In particular, the visitors found themselves deep in Fax territory before Brendan O’Hagan’s grubber was picked off by James Woodburn-Hall who intercepted before feeding Ben Tibbs to score Halifax’s third.

“We put a kick in in their 10 when the full-back was in the line,” highlighted Ford. "It was the right option to select and the ball has ricocheted into James’ hands and he’s raced 90 metres before passing to Tibbs.

“We did the right thing, but we just didn’t quite get it right. We need to keep tidying up and there’s a lot more improvement in us.”