Oxford 35 York City Knights 29

Oxford: Jowitt, Atkinson, Riley, Macdonald, Gill, Windley, Fleming, Biscomb, Canterbury, McRae, Burnett, Cooke, Crowther. Subs (all used): Brooker, Moules, Cox, J Siddons.

Tries: Gill 16, 34, 66; Jowitt 21; Brooker 50; J Siddons 77.

Conversions: Jowitt 16, 21, 34, 66, 77.

Penalties: none.

Drop goal: Windley 75.

Sent off: none.

Sin-binned: none.

York: Harris 6, Brierley 6, Rawsthorne 6, Haynes 6, Saxton 6, H Tyson-Wilson 6, Presley 5, B Tyson-Wilson 5, Carter 7, C Siddons 5, E Smith 5, Hey 6, Spears 6. Subs (all used): Dixon 6, Jubb 6, Moran 7, Morrison 5.

Tries: Carter 1; Rawsthorne 7; Presley 24; Hey 29; Jubb 40.

Conversions: H Tyson-Wilson 7, 24, 29, 40.

Penalties: none.

Sent off: none.

Sin-binned: E Smith 70.

Man of the match: Kieran Moran – ran as hard as anyone in the Knights’ engine room.

Referee: Tom Crashley (Leeds) – not the hardest of tasks for a referee, so far from a small crowd the other side of a running track and long jump pit.

Penalty count: 8-4

Half-time: 18-28

Weather: 25 degrees and not a cloud in the sky.

Moment of the match: Harry Carter’s try, touching down after 20 seconds, was a super individual try. The hooker, having started the game with Andy Ellis absent, scooted from dummy-half on tackle two of the match, and it quickly turned into a wonderful long-range try as he beat the full-back in centrefield and made the chasers look decidedly laboured.

Gaffe of the match: When an opponent fails to find touch with a penalty, you really need to take possession but, with 14 minutes left, Oxford’s winger Jordan Gill bizarrely got to Max Jowitt’s miscued kick first and not only that but he beat the defenders and the cover to score a freak equalising try.

Gamebreaker: Initially it was Jordan Gill’s freakish equalising try and then it was Callum Windley’s drop goal to put Oxford ahead, but the game was properly up with Jordan Siddons made it 35-28 with three minutes left.

Match rating: it may have been decent for the neutral and really good for anyone supporting expansion clubs in rugby league, but this was poor fare, especially in the second half, from a York side who, regardless of injuries, again lost a game they should have had sewn up.