JAMES FORD lamented York City Knights' inability to build pressure and kicking game in their narrow 22-10 win at Dewsbury Rams.

York were pushed all the way by relegation-threatened Dewsbury, with only Matty Marsh’s last-minute try securing the two points for the fifth-placed Knights.

Having seen the Rams suffer a 60-6 defeat to top six side Batley Bulldogs last time out, the hosts were expected to be easily seen off, but Ford’s side struggled to do so.

“I thought we let pressure off and couldn’t build any momentum or pressure in the first half because our completion was miles off,” said the head coach.

“We were chasing too many points too early. In every game, there’s a period where you’ve got to win the arm wrestle and I think we went away from that too early.

“In the second half, we couldn’t put Dewsbury away because we didn’t kick the ball well enough. We conceded four or five seven-tackle sets and missed the corners a few times.

“We’ve won the game so we should be really positive but there’s one clear area where we need to improve.”