Chorley 29, Knights 14

The massive army of Knights fans labelled the performance of the Huddersfield warbler a disgrace and a farce - other words used are unprintable - as they booed him off the pitch at the end of each half.

A few even waved wads of cash in his direction after the final hooter, making it clear what they thought of his impartiality.

On the bright side, his performance in the second half was less controversial than in the first - though that will be of little consolation to the travelling hordes as that first period had proved the difference, with Chorley establishing a winning lead by half-time.

Addy punished the Knights with a selection of bizarre decisions and a brace of quick-fire yellow cards before the break, which had the York contingent open-mouthed in either disbelief or ire.

Scott Fletcher was the first to go to the sin-bin just a minute after coming on as substitute in his first game back from injury.

Addy deemed that he had laid on in the tackle in what was a wholly unremarkable incident in centre-field, and he showed the yellow card for a culmination of supposed fouls by the Knights.

Fletcher was still off the pitch when Scott Rhodes went the same way for alleged offside.

The stand-off, though, was adamant he was on-side as he burst out of the line to intercept a slow, long pass from acting-half; Addy obviously couldn't believe Rhodes was that quick off the mark.

Chorley scored two tries and a penalty in the time York were under-manned, and what's more, the bulk of Lynx's five first-half touchdowns came after Addy had given them a piggy-back down the pitch thanks to his penalty decisions.

The coup de grace from the man in the middle was saved for the end when he sent Graeme Hallas off for alleged stamping.

The punishment might have been warranted if the centre was guilty, but there is little doubt the frustration in the Knights camp would have played a part.

Furthermore, the victim in the incident, Jamie Stenhouse - who was on his feet and happily watching Hallas leave the pitch - had earlier escaped punishment when hurling the ball into the face of Leigh Deakin from one yard away.

What will be of more concern to Knights player-coach Paul Broadbent is the fact his side did not play as well as they had in previous weeks.

Take nothing away from Chorley - they showed why they had lost just once in the last five matches- but it's fair to say the Knights were not on top of their game.

The work-rate in the blazing heat was not questionable but, as Broadbent put it, the focus wasn't the same as it has been recently.

The defence was not watertight while many of the things they tried at the other end just did not come off, with half-backs Danny Brough and Rhodes bemoaning their luck as a variety of kicks and passes did not quite pay dividends.

Chorley went ahead on five minutes when they attacked the short side and National League Under-21 winger Eric Andrews barged into Leigh Deakin and over the line from close in.

Chorley were to have two more real attacks in the first 25 minutes and they scored from both, through Mark McCully and Dave McConnell, both tries being well-taken once the hosts had got the necessary field position.

Fletcher then went to the bin and a minute later Stenhouse took advantage of the extra man to score.

A seventh-minute Brough penalty was all York had to show for their efforts up to then, but a burst of aggression from Andy Burland then took play up to the Chorley end where four defenders were unable to hold back Neil Law as the centre powered over from Lee Jackson's pass. Brough converted from wide out.

The comeback, though, was soon halted as Burland dropped the restart, with Rhodes then joining Fletcher in the bin. McCully, who converted only one try, kicked his second and final goal of the game.

Two minutes later, Anton Garcia ran through Trevor Krause - leaving the Aussie needing seven stitches just under the eye - to make it 24-8 at the break.

Chorley had not been 16 points better than York but, then again, they looked a good solid side and it could easily have been worse if McCully had had his shooting boots on.

York needed to score the first try of the second half but instead it came at the other end when Craig Dean's kick over the top evaded Deakin's outstretched arm and Andrews scored his ninth try in nine games.

Deakin made amends with a try-saving tackle on Andrews after 53 minutes and a minute later Rhodes spotted a gap and darted through to set up a try for the supporting Mark Cain, Brough converting.

The last point of the game came on the hour-mark when Dean booted a drop goal, but there was still time for York to be frustrated further by the referee.

Law and Cain sent Brough clear only to be halted by the shrill of the whistle. Addy may well have been right to call a forward pass, but Brough was clearly unhappy as he booted the ball as far as he could, with Addy unsurprisingly turning the scrum into a penalty.

A try then and the Knights would have been only two converted scores from victory, but it wasn't to be, and as if to highlight the fact it wasn't York's day, Alex Godfrey was denied a try-of-the-season contender in the last minute when Andrews ended his weaving 60-yard run just inches from the line. To underline the point, Godfrey's attempted scoring pass did not quite reach Jackson.

Chorley: McCully, Parker, Garcia, Stenhouse, Andrews, Coates, Dean, Smith, McConnell, Roden, Blackwood, Newall, Hodson. Subs (all used): Street, Briggs, Redford, Wingfield.

Tries: Andrews 5, 46; McCully 17; McConnell 23; Stenhouse 27; Garcia 35.

Cons: McCully 23.

Pens: McCully 33.

Drop goal: Dean 60.

Sin-binned: None.

Sent off: None.

Knights: Godfrey 7, Kama 7, Hallas 6, Law 7, Deakin 6, Rhodes 6, Brough 6, Hayes 7, Jackson 7, Forsyth 6, Ramsden 6, Cain 7, Krause 6. Subs (all used): Callaghan 6, Fletcher 6, Burland 6, Broadbent 6.

Tries: Law 29; Cain 54.

Cons: Brough 29, 54.

Pens: Brough 7.

Drop goals: None

Sin-bin: Fletcher 26, Rhodes 33.

Sent off: Hallas 79.

Man of the match

Lee Jackson - no-one really stood out for York but Jackson kept working, geeing and probing.

Referee: Steve Addy (Huddersfield)

Penalty count: 12-9

HT: 24-8

Attendance: 450

Updated: 10:14 Wednesday, July 02, 2003