York earn revenge after Bulls fightback falls just short

IF THERE’S any justice at all, these two teams will thrash it out again next year in the Championship.

For the second time this season, League One’s best sides served up an absolute end-to-end thriller.

But unlike the opening day at Bootham Crescent, this time it was York celebrating the narrowest of victories after another titanic tussle.

Nobody would have given the Bulls much of a prayer when the Knights eased into a commanding 24-0 advantage before half-time.

John Kear’s side, though, clambered back off the floor with a stirring fightback that took them so agonisingly close to the win that would have effectively sealed the title.

As it is, they are now locked together on 32 points with eight games to go – the Bulls holding sway by a points-difference superiority of 92. There is no leeway after the 12-match winning run stretching back to their only previous league loss at Workington.

The other major setback for the Bulls was the sad sight of Joe Keyes leaving Odsal in an ambulance after suffering concussion at the start of the second half. Jordan Lilley will have big shoes to fill.

With the unfortunate James Laithwaite and Ashley Gibson ruled out for the season through injury, Liam Johnson and Mikey Wood came into the starting line-up.

The Knights included Hull KR dual-reg trio Matty Marsh, Josh Johnson and Jordan Walne who weren’t involved in last week’s narrow win at London Skolars. Jack Ormondroyd, son of Bradford City favourite Ian, was on the bench on loan from Leeds.

The game was preceded by a minute's applause in honour of Max Blakeley, who died the weekend before last playing for Birkenshaw Bluedogs at Heworth.

Odsal had hosted some massive rugby league occasions down the years. While yesterday’s hardly ranked with the Bulls at their Super League pomp, it had that special buzz that has been absent around the club for so long.

Kear had predicted a tight contest where points would be at a premium. But the Bulls shot themselves in the foot to concede the opening score just six minutes in.

A sloppy pass from Sam Hallas gave the Knights promising field position. A penalty improved that and Johnson went in to the left of the posts after smart work from Ben Cockayne and Andy Ellis.

The Bulls’ defence were under serious early pressure and Gregg McNally was pinned behind his posts by Cockayne to force a goal-line drop-out.

The home side held firm – only for a sloppy play-the-ball from Dalton Grant to give the ball back once more. York once again gobbled up the gift as Cockayne showed great strength to fend off the tackle and scramble over for their second try.

The Knights were dominating the opening exchanges against a Bulls side who had not got out of first gear. The frustration was evident among home fans not used to seeing their team playing second fiddle.

The first burst of Bulls pressure came to nothing and Robinson’s brilliant 40/20 quickly turned the teams round.

York’s great opening quarter continued as they once more made the most of the scoring opportunity. Cockayne was again instrumental in the move with former Bulls loanee Jake Butler-Fleming as Judah Mazive swept in on the right wing to make it 16-0.

The Bulls were killing themselves with their sloppiness and another blunder led to a fourth York try.

This time McNally was the offender, getting nowhere near a catch and coughing the ball straight up to Graeme Horne. York’s ruthless streak continued as Joe Batchelor burst through Keyes’ missed tackle to pile on the home agony.

George Flanagan was harshly penalised for offside, allowing Robinson to tack on another two points.

Ref Matt Rossleigh was not popular with either side, giving McNally a huge benefit of the doubt when he clearly knocked after fumbling a high kick – and then allowing York to strip the ball from Flanagan as he looked to burrow in at the other end.

Rossleigh had the home fans howling when he took no further action after Walne had tipped a player upside down in a wild tackle.

The Bulls should have been off the mark as half-time approached but Liam Johnson inexplicably declined to release the ball wide to Grant with the winger begging to finish five metres out.

James Green then dropped the ball from a York penalty as the error count continued to rise.

But the Bulls did get on the scoreboard two minutes before the break, Grant getting the chance in the corner from a high pass from Keyes.

They still had a huge amount of work to do after a mistake-ridden half – but credit to York for forcing the pressure after an excellent 40 minutes.

It got worse for the Bulls soon after the restart when Keyes was left prone after trying to tackle Batchelor.

Play was stopped for over eight minutes as the stand-off was treated before he had to be stretchered off the field.

A flurry of York penalties gave the Bulls a real opportunity to further trim the deficit. But the Knights’ goal-line defence stood rock solid and the home side came away empty-handed.

The Bulls had their tails up at last and after Ross Oakes went close, McNally’s finish from dummy half restored a bit more hope.

That was followed up by a thumping hit from Elliot Minchella on Matty Marsh to force a goal-line drop-out. York were tiring as the Bulls stepped up the pace and the place threatened to erupt as Ross Peltier bulldozed in for their third try.

The comeback momentum was bubbling – and Ethan Ryan came up with one of his trademark specials to leave York on the ropes. Chisholm’s kick to the corner looked too deep but the winger not only managed to make the catch but land inside the post past a bemused Mazive.

Chisholm’s touchline conversion cut the gap to just two points with a quarter of the game to go.

York needed some inspiration from somewhere and got it with a length-of-the-field try from Mazive after Butler-Fleming had clawed Chisholm’s kick out of the air on his own line.

The topsy-turvy tussle continued as Grant lost the ball as he tried to wriggle over in the corner.

But Chisholm brought the Bulls back within one score with a penalty after a high hit on Green.

He then tossed out a long pass for Grant to race in for the 100th try of his career and bring it within two. But the Aussie could not land the extras – and York clung on for the spoils. Just.

PLAYER RATINGS

BULLS: McNally 7, Grant 7, Johnson 7, Oakes 7, Ryan 8, Keyes 7, Chisholm 9, Crossley 8, Hallas 7, Bustin 7, Minchella 7, Garside 7, Wood 7. Interchange: Flanagan 7, Kirk 6, Peltier 7, Green 8.

YORK: Marsh 7, Robson 7, Butler-Fleming 7, Hey 7, Mazive 7, Cockayne 8, Robinson 8, Johnson 7, Ellis 7, Walne 7, Batchelor 8, Scott 8, Spears 8. Interchange: Horne 6, Ormondroyd 6, Porter 6, Carter 6.