JAMES FORD expressed his pride at York City Knights’ response to beat Sheffield Eagles 20-12 after last week’s 100-4 rout at Leigh Centurions.

York conceded 100 points for the first time in their history at Leigh but managed to return to winning ways in the Betfred Championship with a hard-fought win over Mark Aston’s side.

The Knights were pushed all the way by Sheffield, with the game only finally decided by James Glover’s try in the penultimate minute, but reacting from last week’s hammering was the main goal.

“It was really important that we started to write those wrongs,” said head coach Ford. “We haven’t finished - that’s one win and we’re not sweeping it (the Leigh defeat) under the carpet.

“We’re learning from it, we’ve made some changes based on it and I was pleased with the response.

“I thought we were really nervy in the first half with the ball and there’s reasons behind that.

“We showed a lot of character to weather the storm early on. There was some real anxiety out there and we showed real toughness and resilience to deal with that and hang in there and turn the game.

“We were quite comfortably the better team for the last 20 minutes of the first half. In the second half, we showed an amazing amount of resilience to defend set after set on our goal-line.

“We had to work our socks offs off defensively. I’m really proud of that response and how together they are.

“How do we make the game more comfortable? We need to kick the ball better. There were three or four kicks just not quite on the money which turns the momentum of the game.

“We got really tested on the back of stuff like that and we can build on that.”

Ford also singled out half-back Liam Harris for praise. The former Hull FC man finished with a try and an assist against Sheffield, scoring late on in the first-half and teeing up James Glover's finish in the dying seconds. 

“He’s a good player, he’s having a great season for us and he’s a real threat when he’s running the ball," assessed Ford.

“For the vast majority of the season, he’s kicked the ball really well. I think there was some nerves on his play fives.

“But I know he’ll get it right this week and I know he’ll get it right the week after and in the play-offs.”