YORK City Knights had trained well, prepared well and had reason to fire into Featherstone Rovers following their 42-12 defeat at Post Office Road a month ago.

This was a revenge mission at the Summer Bash in Blackpool.

However, the only thing bashed was York’s pride as they this time fell 42-10 – worse than the Easter loss and their worst in the league since falling heavily in Toronto back in League One in 2017.

James Ford’s men were well in the game for almost all of the first half, trailing only to a long-range intercept try by their nemesis at Post Office Road, Dane Chisholm.

But then two tries in three minutes before the break changed the context of the contest and, like in the previous meeting, there was only one winner in the second half as York made mistakes aplenty and Rovers, displaying pace, flair and shape, made them pay with a 15-minute five-try blitz amid a period of almost total possession dominance.

The Knights, having rarely looked like breaking down Fev’s defence even during periods of ascendancy, at least kept going and two late scores brought some respectability.

Nevertheless this was another example of Championship rugby compared to League One – York might have gone to the Lancashire coast third in the table, and with a chance of going level with Toulouse in second following the Frenchmen's defeat to Toronto earlier in the day, but anything other than their ‘A’ game will see the upstarts turned over.

All three of the injury-hit Knights’ new loan signings went straight into the 17 – Liam Harris at full-back, Harry Aldous as starting prop and teenager Tyler Dupree as replacement prop.

Kriss Brining was rested, allowing Harry Carter, itching for a game after his hamstring injury, to come in as interchange hooker, while young Kevin Brown got a rare start on the wing, Judah Mazive left out.

Harris’ arrival allowed Jason Bass to revert to centre and Brad Hey to second-row.

Forwards Josh Jordan-Roberts, Mike Kelly and the crocked Jordan Baldwinson were omitted from the side that held on for victory at Rochdale last week.

York had the better of the early territory but Featherstone, a little quicker on the ball, forced the first dropout when trapping Harris in goal.

Then they broke through down the left but last-man Harris not only halted Alex Sutcliffe but forced the ball from his grasp.

York then had a half-chance on the same flank as fast hands gave Brown space to run into but the winger dropped the pass.

The next time York attacked down that side, the game now into the second quarter, Hey tried fast hands again but Chisholm read it, picked off the pass and sprinted 80 metres to the other end, adding his first of five conversions too for a 6-0 lead.

A Connor Robinson grubber brought a dropout at the other end but York were struggling to find gaps.

Instead, Rovers won a repeat set via a kick to the right corner and got over the whitewash on the same flank, only for the try to be ruled out for obstruction.

York’s inability to break down the Rovers defence was immediately to the fore as two more back-to-back penalties gave them repeat sets in the red zone. There was no way through.

Rovers duly showed them how to do it by scoring twice just before half-time to change the game.

Great hands and angles dragged defenders in, and right-winger Conor Carey had a simple finish.

Then Chisholm broke through and fired out a long pass left to Luke Briscoe who rounded Brown into the left corner for a 14-0 lead.

York need a good start to the second half and the next score, but, with Brown among those making a couple of handling errors, the Fev try-scoring restarted 11 minutes in with that man Chisholm the creator, a cut-out pass putting Carey in with opposite number Perry Whiteley caught in no man’s land.

They were at it again on the back of a penalty, Day running onto a flat ball and crashing through a defence that failed to halt him.

A Whiteley fumble, a penalty, and this time Alex Sutcliffe crashed in.

The penalties were also a killer – five on the trot to Fev in the second period – and Rovers were soon in again, rapid hands putting Josh Hardcastle into the right corner.

Basic errors were punished too – nobody closed down kicker Chisholm, Harris fluffed underneath the spiralling bomb and Tom Holmes had an easy run-in.

That made it 42-0, equalling the points conceded in that previous meeting.

Ford’s men did dig in, though, and, finally getting back on the ball, earned consolation in the last 10 minutes.

A kick left ended in the hands of Liam Salter who offloaded to Jack Teanby, whose well-timed pass gave Whiteley chance to force his way into the corner.

Then Joe Porter charged through from 25 metres, brushing off a couple of men and getting the ball down under the sticks under pressure, Robinson converting.

A last-minute yellow card for Scott Wheeldon following a professional foul gave the Knights a glimmer of hope of at least bettering the result at Post Office Road and it looked like they had done so when Porter again fought off men to get over, but the try was ruled out, presumably for not grounding the ball.