JOHN Kear hailed last-gasp hero Joe Keyes as the Bulls sneaked a winning start to League One at York.

Keyes clinched a 22-20 win at Bootham Crescent with a 45-metre penalty after the hooter had sounded.

“I don’t like picking out individuals but he was the man of match as far as I was concerned,” said Kear.

“He ended our sets well, controlled the game and created the try for Elliot Minchella. His goal-kicking was first class and he had a cracking game.

“Moments like that are what you’re in this sport for. People think you’re crazy because you’re living on a knife-edge but it’s a fantastic feeling.

“York will feel down but they’ll get a result or two like that. We’ve got to enjoy this.”

A huge crowd of 4,281, the largest at Bootham Crescent since the Knights reformed 15 years ago, witnessed a see-saw encounter.

York gave the Bulls a mighty scare on the season opener – and Kear was delighted.

The Bulls coach said: “One of our bywords is respect. It’s respecting this competition that we’re in and it’s respecting the opposition.

“They threw a lot at us and we had to repel it. We had to take our chances when they came along and came out the right side of the scoring ledger.

“There are going to be a lot of challenges – when we go up to Cumbria, when we go to Doncaster or Hunslet.

“We’ve got to embrace that and accept it and if the players show that same resolve, we’re going to have a good year.

“I was happy with the majority of contributions. We had some players missing and some like George Milton who played earlier after an injury so we will get better.

“What delighted me most was the attitude of the players. There was a massive effort from Sam Hallas to charge their drop kick down and then we marched the ball upfield to get the penalty.

“Joe Keyes showed no nerves whatsoever to slot the ball between the posts. We’ll get better as a team but our competitiveness and determination to get the points pleased me.”